A SYDNEY crane company has been fined $65,000 after a young apprentice was crushed by a tonne of timber flooring, suffering multiple breaks and losing part of his bowel.
In the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, Justice Francis Marks also ordered Stephensons Cranes Pty Ltd, based at Arndell Park in Sydney's west, to publish details of the case.The details will appear, at the company's cost, in The Daily Telegraph newspaper and the trade magazines Construction Contractor and Crane Lift.
Commenting on the judgment on Thursday, WorkCover operational health and safety division general manager John Watson said the incident could have been prevented and served as a warning to the construction industry.
"This incident has had far-reaching consequences for the apprentice, whose health and lifestyle will be badly affected for many years to come due to the injuries he received, and robbed him of the joy of holding his newborn baby son," Mr Watson said.
On February 20, 2007, 19-year-old apprentice carpenter Jamie Kirchen fell 2.5 metres at a residential construction site before being crushed by a tonne of timber flooring.
Mr Kirchen, employed by Mintark Pty Ltd, based at Leumeah in Sydney's southwest, was standing on timber joists which formed a second-storey deck area while he directed a crane operator to land a pallet of timber flooring.
He was removing the slings from the pallet when the unsecured timber joists on which he was standing gave way under the weight of the pallet.
Mr Kirchen, who was not wearing a fall arrest, suffered multiple breaks in his legs, multiple fractures of his pelvis and lost part of his bowel.
He was bedridden for six months and was unable to hold his newborn son during his recovery.
In his judgment handed down last Friday, Justice Marks said neither Stephensons Cranes, nor its employee Richard Soltau, "undertook any examination of the physical area upon which the load was to be deposited".
"They should have done so," Justice Marks said.
"The safety of Mr Kirchen, albeit not an employee of Stephensons Cranes, was dependent upon the suitability of the area for the depositing of the load."
Justice Marks said there was no evidence that the crane company had made any inquiry about the "safety and suitability" of the area.
But he noted that several loads had been lifted onto the area earlier that day without incident.
Justice Marks also said that the principal responsibility for the safety and security of the area rested on Mintark and Mr Kirchen.
He said he regarded the "culpability" of the defendants as being less than that of Mr Kirchen's employer.
"The evidence is that Mr Soltau, on his own behalf and on behalf of the defendant, relied upon the ostensible expertise of the carpenters in having placed the joists in such a manner that the area would be appropriate for the depositing of the load," Justice Marks said.
"The Stephensons Cranes personnel must have been aware that Mr Kirchen was not wearing any safety harness, was working on exposed joists and there was limited protection against a fall."
Justice Marks said advertising the case in a newspaper was an effective way to get the message of safety across to the construction industry.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/crane-accident-company-ordered-to-publish-ohs-breaches/story-e6frfku9-1225916667535#ixzz1DKstVir6
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