2 Companies face massive fines following a workplace drowning
It was reported today, a day of little good news, that two Perth companies face combined fines of up to $4.7 million over an incident in 2018 where a young plumber, Ryan Duffus drowned in a flooded trench on a Mosman Park construction site.
Mr Duffus was allegedly working in a two by one-metre trench when it suddenly filled with water and mud.
Workers tried desperately to pull the 26-year-old from the trench, using a nearby pipe as a snorkel while screaming for help as he disappeared under the rising muddy water.
The plumbing and construction companies involved in this tragedy, Vivian Plumbing and Civil and Badge Constructions, have been charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment, and causing the death of an employee.
The companies and their directors are facing fines of up to $2.7 million and $2 million respectively in the first case to be initiated under the new penalty regime rolled out by the Western Australian government in 2018 as part of an overhaul of the state’s Work Health and Safety Act.
The changes saw maximum penalties for level four offences, which included fatalities, rise significantly from $500,000 for first time offences and $625,000 to repeat offences to maximums of $2.7 million and $3.5 respectively.
Penalties for ‘level one’ offences, which are breaches of the regulations but do not include injuries, also increased to $450,000 for first-time offences and $570,000 for repeat offenders.
The first mention of the case will be heard on October 16.
Western Australia is not the only juridiction to increase such penalties with some including jail time.
The New South Wales Government has also outlawed the ability to insure for statutory fines and penalties arising from work place injuries or death. It is still legal to purchase insurance to protect against the cost of defending such an action.
To learn more, or to see what insurance is available for you and your company please speak with your insurance broker.
Of course insurance is only part of the answer, ensuring safe places of work are safe is key.