A construction company has been fined $82,500 for the death of a worker who was struck by a reversing road grader at a Macgregor building site in 2011.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Justice John Burns described the death of Wayne Vickery, 45, as "tragic and avoidable" as he sentenced Canberra Contractors in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday morning.
Canberra Contractors employee Wayne Vickery, 45, was acting as a grade checker and had crouched down behind the heavy grader to check ground levels for a road in a new residential housing estate.
The grader that he was guiding began to reverse, and despite the yells of others, it struck him with its ripper and he was killed instantly.
Canberra Contractors was taken to court over the accident and charged with criminal offences.
The company was set to fight the allegations in the Supreme Court last year, and it was expected to be the first case of its kind to face trial in the higher court.
But the company entered a guilty plea in May to a charge of negligently failing to comply with a safety duty, exposing someone to a substantial risk of serious harm.
Mr Vickery's death, which happened two weeks before Christmas, was described as "shocking" but easily preventable during a sentencing hearing late last year.
Court documents alleged Canberra Contractors had failed to provide a safe workplace, safe systems of work, and appropriate information, instruction, training or supervision to workers.
There was a failure to prohibit level checking behind the grader, failure to ensure a safety exclusion zone around the machine, and a failure to operate the plant in a way that would not endanger anyone.
The grader operator and Mr Vickery had failed to maintain contact to minimise the chance of anyone being hit, and there was a failure by the foreman and grader operator to continually monitor site conditions and adjust accordingly.
Canberra Contractors managing director Paul Macor told the court the company took safety extremely seriously, and had all the right policy, documentation, and procedures in place at the time of Mr Vickery's death. Mr Macor agreed the death was preventable and apologised to Mr Vickery's family.
Canberra Contractor's legal team had asked Mr Burns to consider the company's 32-year unblemished safety record, its clear and genuine remorse, and the early guilty plea.
Defence barristers also highlighted the delay in proceedings, three years of which he attributed to the under-resourced government agency WorkSafe ACT, which investigated and prepared the brief of evidence.
Crown prosecutors had argued the fine imposed on the company must be enough to "compel attention" to safety issues.
They said basic errors had led to the death of Mr Vickery, and the company had been unable to explain why safety policies had not been followed.
In handing down his sentence, Mr Burns said Mr Vickery's death was tragic and could have been avoided if work safety protocols and rules had been adhered to.
He accepted the company had a good safety record and said the evidence suggested it took work health and safety matters seriously, with protocols in place and regular training for staff.
"The evidence reveals a high degree of negligence for a short amount of time."
He took into account the fact the company had provided financial assistance to Mr Vickery's family, saying it demonstrated remorse, and factored in significant delays in the case being brought before the courts.
Mr Burns recorded a conviction and fined the company $82,500, which he discounted by 25 per cent for an early guilty plea.
