Browsing: WHS decisions (WA) | Page 4

An employer that allowed an unlicensed teenage worker to operate a forklift, and then failed to inform a safety regulator that seven of the worker's fingers had been amputated, has been handed a high-level safety penalty.

The High Court has rejected an employer's bid for special leave to challenge a ruling that it is not entitled to recover, from its insurer, any damages and compensation paid to an injured worker because of its safety record.

A major employer charged over a serious mobile plant incident has escaped prosecution, under Commonwealth WHS laws, because a regulator's "delegation instrument" did not give the inspector who initiated the prosecution the power to do so.

A safety regulator has successfully prosecuted a government-owned corporation for supplying a worker with a metal (instead of nonconductive) rod to clean powerlines, and is investigating a separate fatal electrical incident. Another regulator has issued a workplace powerlines warning after multiple shocks and near misses.

The prosecution of two companies over the death of a worker in an exclusion zone has provided a timely reminder that the designers, manufacturers and suppliers of equipment have a legislative safety duty to the workers who use their products, according to a regulator.

• OHS insurance bans take effect in Vic, new chair appointed; and
  
• Employer fined over EWP incident and verification failure.

A worker who previously proved his employer negligently failed to control the risks posed by a slippery floor, has failed to convince an appeals court he was a credible witness and the breach caused him to suffer injuries and a pain condition.

A PCBU has been prosecuted and fined for failing to ensure forklift loads were properly secured when raised onto high racking, while a company and one of its workers have been fined for breaching safety laws and the "Wiring Rules".

• Company fined for seatbelt-related safety breaches, another charged;
  
• WA responds to roadwork fatalities with Code and devices; and
  
• Alleged scaffolding breaches led to death in Vic.

Employers have been urged to ensure their safety procedures are followed around the clock, after two related companies were fined over the death of a shift worker inside a machine. Another company has been fined for safety breaches after two vehicles disappeared down a 13-metre sink hole.