A major employer with previous fatality-related convictions has been fined $160,000 for failing to take the non-burdensome steps required to prevent serious crush injuries. Meanwhile, Queensland has issued a fatality alert, and opened its WHS and return-to-work awards.
A worker whose hand became infected, after his manager persuaded him to return to work instead of seeing his doctor after he injured it, has been awarded nearly $1 million in damages.
A man who posed as a qualified electrician on online platform Airtasker has been fined $100,000 for exposing individuals to the risk of serious injury or death. Meanwhile, regulators have issued a series of alerts after a worker was killed, two workers were overcome by heat stress and other incidents.
A man sleeping in a loading dock would not have been killed if a subcontractor had been inducted in and followed basic operating procedures, a regulator says. Meanwhile, an individual has been fined over a serious safety incident that could have been prevented at little cost.
A judge has upheld a $9,000 fine in the first (and "somewhat curious") prosecution involving the WHS duty to "consult workers". He also disagreed with a landmark finding that Queensland's WHS fines should be consistent with those in the other harmonised jurisdictions.
A tourism operator has been fined for WHS breaches, including failing to follow a manufacturer's instructions, which led to a woman sustaining "cannon ball" injuries. Meanwhile, regulators have issued alerts after two fatal falls and two serious crane incidents involving counterweights.
An appeals court has upheld a $480,000 damages award, confirming that an employer breached its duty of care to a worker by failing to maintain a non-slip work surface according to the manufacturer's guidelines or periodically check its slip resistance.
Are your contractors implementing all the WHS measures they quoted for? The recent reckless conduct prosecution in Queensland has shown how crucial it is to make sure.
Three employers, including two repeat offenders, have been fined for safety breaches involving mobile plant, with two of the cases showing that regulators will target duty holders even where workers haven't been harmed.
The company director jailed for recklessly endangering a roofer, who fell to his death, over-relied on the diligence of workers and skimped on safety controls, the Queensland Office of Industrial Relations has revealed.
