Resort fined over permanent injury to worker

Hyde Park Management, trading as Cable Beach Club Resort, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to an employee and was fined $60,000 in the Broome Magistrates Court.

In 2006, a landscape gardener employed by the resort was pruning coconut trees from the basket of a ‘Squirrel’, a self-propelled elevating work platform (EWP). The Squirrel had a triangular base with two extendable rear-drive wheels and two front castor wheels which, in addition to moving the Squirrel, stabilised the base. This was achieved by extending the rear wheels, along with maintaining a water-ballast in all four wheels.

Immediately before the incident, the employee was pruning coconut trees from the basket, which was extended to its full height of 6.5 m. He accidentally hit the emergency stop button and had to ring another employee to come and restart the motor. Soon after the motor was restarted, the Squirrel began to shudder, became unstable and toppled over.
As the Squirrel fell, the employee hit his head on concrete kerbing. He suffered severe brain injuries and remains permanently disabled and unable to ever return to employment.

An inspection of the Squirrel by two independent experts concluded that, at the time of the incident, the EWP could not be used safely because of its poor condition. The front two castor wheel tyres had no water-ballast, and one of the drive wheels had incorrect water-ballast. In addition, it was not possible to extend the rear drive-wheels outwards to stabilise the machine because the pivot section was corroded.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said that the case was a reminder of the importance of maintaining plant in a safe state: “This case is a tragic reminder of the crucial need to keep plant, machinery and vehicles properly maintained and in safe working order and to ensure that operators are also aware of all safety requirements.

“In this case, the Squirrel itself was clearly marked with a caution to ensure that the wheels had to be fully extended when the machine was in use and that all wheels must be ballasted with water. The same information was on the first page of the owner’s manual located at the workplace.

“The employer was required by law to ensure that the machinery used by employees was properly maintained and in a safe operating condition. This was clearly not the case, and a worker has had his quality of life severely affected by this failure to provide a safe workplace.”