More deaths and injuries investigated by WorkSafe Victoria

Three incidents are being investigated by WorkSafe in Victoria, after two men died and another suffered critical head injuries.

A man in his late 30s died when his quad bike overturned on a property at Reedy Flat, near Ensay, in East Gippsland. It has not yet been determined if the property is a workplace or a hobby farm. In addition, a worker in his early 50s was crushed by a load of steel which fell from a forklift at a scrap metal yard at Foster in South Gippsland.

A painter in his late 60s suffered critical head injuries after falling 4 m at a construction site at Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula.

“It is a tragedy that three men didn’t make it home safely at the end of the day,” said WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Marnie Williams.

“Quad bikes are involved in many fatalities in agriculture, while falls from heights kill and injure far too many workers in the construction sector. Forklifts are involved in many injuries and fatalities across a wide variety of industries.”

Agriculture and construction are particularly high-risk industries.

“These are all well-known risks, which is why it is unacceptable that people continue to die and be injured using these types of machinery or undertaking these types of tasks,” said Williams.

She said it was critical that appropriate systems were in place to ensure such risks were reduced or eliminated.