Browsing: Fatalities | Page 115

Coronial reports on two of the hundreds of deaths resulting from falls from ladders in Australia in the last decade have highlighted the importance of complying with the relevant Standards and WHS Codes of Practice - in both work and home maintenance settings.

• Capped workers' comp premiums promised for large NSW employers; and
  
• Safety regulators release alerts and other publications.

• Employers fined $450k over death after worker's concerns ignored;
  
• WorkCover psychiatrist lied to keep patients in hospital; and
  
• Agencies issue safety advice for new year.

• Employers fined $265k after death and conveyor incidents;
  
• Males dominate injury stats as claims costs increase; and
  
• SWA releases information sheets for construction sector.

• UK employer fined $700k over "predictable" death;
  
• SWA and WA release fatality report and alerts;
  
• Individual fined for dangerous goods storage breaches; and
  
• Couple fined $40k for helmet breaches.

A worker who injured his knee after tripping over a vacuum cleaner left in a corridor has been awarded workers' compensation, while an employer has been ordered to pay a deceased worker's family $336,000 in lump sum compensation.

• Fatalities highlight need for individual JSAs;
  
• Forklift complaints in log book ignored prior to death; and
  
• Anti-bullying claims rate falls despite recent prediction.

Employers are being urged to assess whether their work processes are encouraging employees to break safety rules, after a Safe Work Australia report found a link between risk taking and high fatality and injury rates.

The NSW Supreme Court has clarified the extent of safety inspectors' entry powers under the State WHS Act, in rejecting an employer's claim that an inspector who entered its workplace after a fatality couldn't interview witnesses before seeking any required information in writing.

A parliamentary committee has warned that a gap in safety legislation is exposing FIFO workers to bullying and other risks at accommodation facilities, and accused Rio Tinto of 'underplaying' the impact of FIFO work on mental health.