Browsing: WHS decisions (QLD) | Page 2

A local council has been fined over a lifeguard's electrical burns, in a case demonstrating that the risks and duties around overhead powerlines aren't limited to those in industries like construction and agriculture. Another employer has been fined over a WHS offence lasting 18 months.

• Category-3 fine of $100k imposed after notices ignored; and
  
• New workers' comp regulations coming to Vic.

A commission has rejected an injured worker's claim he was unlawfully discriminated against when his employer refused his return-to-work request despite his medical clearance, finding the employer reasonably maintained concerns over his ability to perform his duties safely.

A major government employer has been fined $600,000 over a train fatality and injuries that occurred in circumstances where drivers had a restricted view, and that triggered mandatory reviews of safety systems for a high-risk procedure.

A major employer has failed to block a safety directive, requiring it to take hundreds of vehicles out of action in certain electrical storms, by claiming the rule actually increases the risk of workers being struck by lightning.

A PCBU previously prosecuted over a fatality, and a facilities manager who failed to manage the entrapment hazard posed by a disused stairwell, where a visitor died, have been fined for WHS contraventions in Queensland.

A major employer has been cleared of unlawfully discriminating against an impaired worker by rejecting her medical clearances to return to work after she threatened to fight and kick her co-workers.

A PCBU that was fined $250,000, in relation to the drowning deaths of two overseas students, has failed to reduce its penalty by claiming it was blamed for the omissions of others. A judge stressed that WHS duties are not transferrable and the legislation "demands a proactive approach".

A court has thrown out an injured worker's claim that two duty holders should have provided him with a walk-around induction, and marked all trip hazards with fluorescent paint, at a 1.7km-long work site.

A coronial inquest into the "violent and tragic" death of a bus driver, who was set on fire by a passenger, has outlined the "extensive and commendable" post-incident steps taken by the driver's employer and others to improve the safety of workers and members of the public.