Forklift load crushing sees charges laid
After a worker was crushed by a bundle of steel weighing over 1.2 tonnes, NT WorkSafe has charged a Darwin steel fabrication business and two company officers.
In September 2023, a contractor for a transport company attended Topline Steel Fabrications (NT) Pty Ltd workplace in Yarrawonga to pick up a delivery of steel. During the loading operation, which involved the company’s operations manager Darcy Blyth operating a forklift and the contractor acting as a spotter, a bundle of steel weighing over 1.2 tonnes fell from the forklift tynes.
The contractor was crushed by the bundle of steel, causing significant crush injuries to multiple parts of the body.
NT WorkSafe will allege Topline Steel Fabrications (NT) Pty Ltd did not have safe systems of work for the use of forklifts and the safety management systems that were in place for the company were inadequate.
John Francis Roberts, the director of Topline Steel Fabrications (NT) Pty Ltd, has been charged as an officer with three breaches of the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011.
Blyth has also been charged as an officer with four breaches of the Act. NT WorkSafe will allege Blyth was operating the forklift unlicensed, as his forklift licence had expired in 2015.
The matter is listed for mention at the Darwin Local Court on Monday, 9 December 2024.
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