Worker's headfirst fall into stormwater drain lands manufacturer $70K fine
In Queensland, a stormwater treatment manufacturer has been fined $70,000 after a worker fell into a stormwater drain.
The incident
The manufacturer operated a business in the supply, installation and maintenance of various stormwater treatment assets, including drain filters, which were installed within stormwater drains and operated as a catchment system — with filtration bags catching pollution in the stormwater drain prior to entering the stormwater system.
The incident occurred on 8 March 2023. Two workers had been tasked with emptying the filter bags. They swept around the drains, leaned into them, removed the bags, emptied them and put them back in. During the task, one worker was on his hands and knees on the outside edge of the drain and put weight on the drain filter when it collapsed, causing the worker to fall headfirst 3.5 metres to the bottom of the drain.
The worker sustained a fractured skull, bleed on the brain and a fractured shoulder — he was not wearing any fall prevention device at the time, nor were any other controls in place to prevent a fall. The failure of the drain filter was due to a fault within the screws; the screws should have been able to easily withstand the weight of the product and the worker, but these screws had an undetectable manufacturing defect.
Information or instruction to utilise controls to prevent the risk of fall when cleaning the drain filter was not provided to the workers. Further, they were not familiar with the manufacturer’s Safety Management Plan or Policies and Procedures handbook, or installation guide. While the manufacturer had fall restraints available at the time, these were not used for the drain filter maintenance.
Trial and fine
After a half-day trial, Magistrate Shearer found the manufacturer guilty, being satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant failed to comply with their statutory duty because, while the manufacturing defect in the screws was not within their control, the possibility of the drain filter or the concrete to which it was affixed failing was always open.
The defendant had relied on the drain filter as an infallible barrier to fall, when the risk of falling in the drain must always be foreseeable. Knowing the drains had depths over three metres, there was an obvious risk of death or serious injury if the drain filter failed; the Magistrate regarded the remediation steps taken immediately after the incident as a mitigating factor in imposing a sentence.
A fine of $70,000 was imposed, the Magistrate exercising his discretion to not record a conviction.
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