A company that created a "hidden danger" when it loaded a truck is more liable for a worker's serious injuries than the worker's employer, the NSW Court of Appeal has found in a $5.75 million damages case.
Two workers who were sacked for failing to identify a seriously damaged hoist rope during pre-start checks of a tower crane have been awarded compensation, even though their conduct could have had "catastrophic safety implications".
A NSW employer is expanding its due diligence program for senior managers as part of a $200,000 WHS enforceable undertaking (EU), which provides valuable insight into the EU process and how the employer tackled height risks.
Employers can take three simple steps to ensure workers aren't using their mobile phones while walking near mobile plant or in other hazardous situations, says Mark Ritchie of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Victorian employers have been fined nearly $500,000 after an excavator operator was killed in a landslide, and other incidents, while a man has been fined for obstructing safety inspectors.
An employer has been ordered to pay nearly $700,000 in damages to a contract driver who injured his back while unloading jammed pallets from a truck, after a judge found the man was unlikely to complain about poorly packed loads for fear of losing work.
