Yass widow Fiona Vickery will have to wait at least another three months to find out why her husband Wayne died during a workplace accident at a Canberra building site two-and-a-half years ago.
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The coronial investigation into the cause of his death was suspended on Monday so prosecutors can consider laying criminal charges.
The popular Yass father-of-two, a veteran of the building industry, was fatally struck by a heavy grader on a West Macgregor building site on December 12, 2011.
He was working for Canberra Contractors on a Village Building Company project.
Outside court on Monday, Fiona told reporters she was frustrated at yet another delay.
“I want it over with. It’s very long and drawn out with no answers,” she said.
After years of attending hearings, the family is still seeking basic answers.
“Why did Wayne die? If everything was the way it was supposed to be, how was it then, why did he die? I need to know that answer," she said.
“I don’t want any prosecution, but I also don’t want this to happen to anyone else’s family.
“I hope [changes] can be put in place, sooner rather than later, and there’s consequences for them not being put in place.”
ACT chief coroner Lorraine Walker found there were grounds to believe an indictable offence had been committed and ordered a halt to the inquest until August so she could invite the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether to pursue a criminal case.
The law requires the coroner to write to the DPP once reasonable suspicion has been established.
The Coroners Court has heard Mr Vickery and a co-worker had been levelling a road on the project.
Mr Vickery had been checking levels on foot, while the co-worker drove the grader.
The court heard Mr Vickery used an unconventional method to check levels, requiring him to get on his hands and knees.
He would usually complete the check while in front of the vehicle.
The pair had communicated via eye contact and hand gestures.
The grader had a warning alarm when placed in reverse and a rear view mirror, but no side mirrors.
About 2pm, Mr Vickery had crouched behind the machine to conduct a check when the grader reversed into him.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Murray Thomas, told the court there was reasonable belief there had been negligence on the behalf of Canberra Contractors and five employees, including the grader driver.
Ken Archer, acting for driver and company, also urged Ms Walker to write to the DPP so the long-running matter could move forward.
The coronial inquiry can only resume after the DPP indicates it will not prosecute, or three months elapses without charges being laid.
Construction, Forestry, Mining, Energy Union (CFMEU) ACT secretary Dean Hall said the family would be attending a dedication ceremony on Saturday in Wayne’s honour at a park near where he was killed.
Although he could not comment on the specifics of the Vickery inquest, he said delays did have a tremendous impact on a family seeking closure.
“When family members go to work, there’s an assumption that you’re going to come home… I think that’s why workplace deaths hit families so hard.
“The impact is that [grieving families] have a tremendous sense of loss of control in their lives… and everything’s up in the air, and unfortunately the legal system is so cumbersome and slow and takes such a long time for people to be heard, that the pain just goes on and on and it’s very hard for families to have closure.”
He said by drawing the process out, it was “almost like torture for the family”.
“I can’t speak for Fiona and her family specifically, but in general it’s a process of drawn-out pain and suffering and has the potential to reopen the wounds of what happened on that day when their loved one was taken from them.”
The inquest was adjourned for mention on August 26.
