Falling glass sheets crush worker

A Queensland worker sustained serious crush injuries in August 2018, allegedly after multiple sheets of balustrading glass fell on him.

According to a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland incident alert, the sheets of glass fell from a truck-mounted A-frame while the worker was standing on the ground beside the truck.

The report said he was holding and balancing the sheets in a near vertical position, while another worker removed a sheet of ply from behind the glass. It was alleged the glass, weighing a total of approximately 160 kg, overbalanced and fell onto the worker, forcing him to the ground. It caused severe crush injuries to his back, chest and legs. Investigations are continuing.

The incident alert goes on to say that sheet materials, such as glass, plasterboard, stone and granite benchtops, pre-cast concrete panels and form-ply can fall if they are not adequately supported while being transported, handled or stored.

The risk of injuries is high when glass sheets are being handled or moved and the sheets are not adequately inclined and supported by racking or transport frames. Workers or others in the immediate vicinity are at risk of being crushed, trapped or cut by falling sheets. In addition, workers risk musculoskeletal injuries when they are required to manually balance stacks of sheets during sorting and handling.

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