Company fined for pub fall injury

The owners of a Wallacia pub in Western Sydney have been fined $150,000 after a worker fell through an open trapdoor and suffered serious leg injuries.

Yoorooga Holdings Pty Ltd, the owner of the Wallacia Hotel, were convicted of a breach of section 19(1) in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) for failing to ensure workers were not at risk of falling through the trapdoor to the cellar, and not using barriers or warning signs to alert workers that the trapdoor was open.

The incident occurred on 20 February 2013 when a bottle shop attendant was retrieving stock from shelves situated above the trapdoor and fell through the open void, landing on the cellar floor 2.4 metres below.

The trapdoor had been left open by another employee who had previously accessed the cellar to retrieve stock.

SafeWork NSW reported the employee suffered multiple fractures to her right heel and an injury to her left heel which required extensive surgery and rehabilitation.

At the time of the incident there were no barriers or warning signs to prevent people entering the area when the trapdoor was open.

Executive Director of SafeWork NSW Peter Dunphy said the risk of injury was obvious and the measures to eliminate the risk were simple.

“The incident could have been easily prevented had they installed barriers or installed an alternative access to the cellar,” said Dunphy.

“This decision sends a strong message to the hotel industry of the need to have effective safe work systems in place to prevent injuries to workers.”

Since the incident the hotel’s owners have reportedly installed an alternative access to the cellar with built-in staircase as well as slip-resistant steel stair treads and painted stair edges yellow for high visibility.

The owners also installed key access to the staircase and additional lighting.

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