Charges laid over electrocution of insulation installer

Queensland’s Department of Justice and Attorney-General has laid charges against a Beenleigh company following extensive investigation into the death of an insulation installer and the severe injury of a coworker in the ceiling of a home last year.

QHI Installations has been charged with breaching section 30 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 for allegedly failing to conduct its business or undertaking in a way that was electrically safe.

Charges have also been laid, under section 199, against company director Christopher William McKay and company manager Christopher John McKay, for allegedly failing to ensure the company complied with its obligations under the Act.

The charges follow an incident on 14 October 2009 in which a 25-year-old male worker was electrocuted and his coworker, an 18-year-old female, received severe electrical burns to the left leg while installing foil insulation in the ceiling of a home in Brisbane.

A joint investigation was conducted into the fatal incident by inspectors from the Electrical Safety Office and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, both part of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.