A coronial inquest into the death of a German backpacker in a ride-on mower incident in the Gold Coast hinterland will be held next year at request of the woman's mother.
Jennifer Kohl, 27, was killed in 2017 at a farm in Mount Tamborine where she and her German boyfriend had been working picking avocados.
A pre-inquest conference at the Queensland Coroner's Court at Southport today heard Ms Kohl's mother had requested an inquest into the circumstances of her daughter's death.
Counsel-assisting Melinda Zerner told the court the inquest would not be about "finding fault or looking for blame", but looking at the lead-up to the incident.
'Homemade trailer' part of incident
Ms Kohl and her partner were riding on the mower on December 8, 2017, when the incident happened three weeks into their farm work.
The pair was employed to work at Mount Tamborine Avocados by the farm co-owners Kenneth Jacobi and Kathryn Singleton.
The court heard the man had been taught to ride the mower by Mr Jacobi and had driven it "about 50 times" before the incident.
Ms Zerner told the court the four-wheel-drive mower, which had no blades and was used to tow a homemade trailer, flipped when the couple was travelling down a hill.
"It rolled and pinned her under the mower, causing her fatal injuries," she said.
An autopsy found Ms Kohl sustained collapsed lungs, but no fractures, and died of "traumatic asphyxia".
'Harrowing to say the least'
The court heard Ms Kohl was trapped for about 38 minutes and was already dead by the time the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) arrived.
Ms Zerner described the call to triple-0 as "harrowing to say the least".
"[The man] was panicked," she said of Ms Kohler's partner.
Ms Zerner told the court several blunders, some caused by "a language barrier", meant paramedics were initially dispatched in Mount Isa, almost 2,000 kilometres away, and then Mt Coot-tha in Brisbane’s west.
Ms Zerner told the court when the operator got the address of "MacDonnell Road" in Mount Tamborine, they failed to check the spelling and instead sent ambulances to "McDonald Road" in Jimboomba, about 34 kilometres away.
"Had they gone to the right address, it would have taken them seven minutes, not 23 minutes," she said.
"They arrived at 11:52am, but [Ms Kohl] had no pulse at that time."
'Valiant effort'
During the 30-minute call to QAS, the man flagged down passers-by, who helped translate the situation to the dispatcher.
Ms Zerner told the court it was "evident from the calls that [he] was making a valiant effort to get the mower off [Ms Kohl]".
The QAS also requested the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) to attend, but they were stood down when the incorrect address of Jimboomba was provided.
Coroner Carol Lee will preside over the inquest at the Queensland Coroners Court at Southport from May 8, 2023.
It will examine how, when and where Ms Kohl died, and whether the QAS appropriately dispatched paramedics and QFES.
It will also look at the delay in the dispatch, and whether anything could have been done differently that would’ve changed the outcome.
The inquest will hear what measures are in place to safeguard backpackers undertaking farm work and if Workplace Health and Safety measures are adequate.
