A WORKPLACE accident which caused a man's leg to be severed when 720 kilograms of pipes fell off a truck in Islington, has resulted in a conviction.
The incident occurred on December 6, 2019 at a business on Chinchen Street. Police, NSW Fire and Rescue and paramedics were called to the industrial site to reports a male truck driver, aged 62, had suffered severe leg and head injuries.
According to a SafeWork NSW investigation and documents from the recent District Court hearing, truck driver Gregory Harris was contracted to Sydney transport company AST Services Pty Ltd to make a delivery of pipes to Newcastle-based business ReFire. On arrival at the Islington site he was removing chains from the rear passenger side of the trailer's load when a bundle of three pipes, which weighed about 720 kilograms, fell and struck him.
Mr Harris suffered a concussion and significant crush injuries to both legs, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg below the knee. He also underwent reconstructive surgery on his left leg and skin grafts following the incident. Mr Harris, who had been a heavy vehicle driver in the transport industry for about 30 years, was unable to return to the workforce due to his injuries and "required ongoing rehabilitation and modifications to his home" according to court documents.
Criminal charges were brought against AST Services Pty Ltd, which entered a guilty plea in the District Court of NSW to a breach of section 19/32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to ensure as far as reasonably practicable the health and safety of workers.
The court heard that the heavy steel pipes were bundled onto the truck's flatbed trailer by one of AST's forklift operators at a site at Port Botany.
While the front of the flatbed trailer had support cradles and stanchions, the rear of the trailer did not have the recommended support in place. Chains were used to secure the pipes to the trailer and the load was visually inspected by the forklift driver and the truck driver before the allotted cargo was taken to Newcastle.
In July the company, which has ceased transporting pipes and substantially downsized its operations since the incident, was found guilty and fined $210,000. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $1.5 million and despite the "serious and life changing injuries" to Mr Harris the court found the company to be a good corporate citizen, had work plans in place at the time of the incident and had demonstrated remorse, all of which resulted in the reduced judgement.
