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A commission has rejected an employer's contentions that: a "violent and painful" work incident could not have caused a worker's stress disorder; and her ability to undertake "suitable duties" not long after the incident blocked her incapacity claim.

A worker could be jailed for up to five years, after being charged with recklessly endangering a colleague who was killed by a toppling forklift load. Meanwhile, a safety regulator has issued a special warning to "pranksters", after five workers sustained burns in a gas explosion.

A worker who sustained a permanent impairment from slipping on stairs at his workplace has been denied damages, with a court finding his employer had taken reasonable steps to mitigate the risk of slipping, and the worker had descended the stairs imprudently.

An employer that failed to take steps to avoid very obvious safety risks has had its safety fine more than doubled on resentencing, over an incident demonstrating the legislative requirement to pair high level controls with proactive training and supervision.

• WHS regulator targeting numerous NSW businesses;
  
• Key WHS measure for Cth parliamentary workplaces introduced; and
  
• WHS Regulations amended in WA.

• Recklessness fine followed by site-preservation conviction; and
  
• Refugee advocates concerned by developments in WHS cases.

• Falling-object prosecution avoided through EU; and
  
• New Code covers WHS and electricity compliance in WA.

The resurgence of debilitating lung diseases in a major industry has come with a shift in disease type and severity, which researchers have attributed to modern work methods. They say their findings highlight the importance of controlling respirable dust.

A business owner could be jailed for up to five years, after he was charged with reckless conduct relating to a similar incident to one that recently attracted a record WHS penalty. Meanwhile, a train driver who was accused of recklessly using his mobile phone has been sentenced.

Two companies have been ordered to pay a total of more than $1.2 million in damages to a worker who slipped and fell 10 metres from an access ladder that didn't comply with Australian Standards.