19-year-old's traumatic head injury death leads to $350K fine

In Western Australia, a construction company has been fined $350,000 (and ordered to pay more than $6600 in costs) over the death of a 19-year-old worker who was struck by a sea container drawbridge ramp weighing around 250 kg. At the time of the incident, which occurred in November 2021, the worker was assisting his supervisor to lower the ramp. Another company that was engaged to complete the works, including the lowering of the sea container ramp, was also prosecuted over the incident and was fined $250,000 in August.

The ramp to be lowered was held in place by two pins. The first pin was removed and then, before removing the second pin, the supervisor instructed the worker to stand to the left of the ramp out of the drop zone. When the second pin was removed the ramp fell to the ground quickly, striking the worker, who suffered fatal injuries. “There were no written procedures or clear instructions for carrying out the task, even though it should have been recognised as hazardous,” WorkSafe WA Commissioner Sally North said.

“Struck-by incidents involving falling objects remain a significant cause of serious injuries and fatalities in construction and other industries. I urge workplace leaders to engage with their teams and reassess the measures they have in place to prevent objects from falling,” North added. “When identifying potential falling object hazards, it’s important to look beyond moving loads and consider heavy items that are installed or stored in ways that could pose a risk if something fails.

“Examples include stored stone slabs or glass sheets, large gates, roller doors and their motors, ramps that need to be raised and lowered, and similar heavy components,” North said. “Following this incident, the ramp was permanently removed from the sea container, eliminating the need to raise or lower it; however, this change came too late to prevent the tragic death of a 19-year-old worker who had only been employed by the company for three weeks.”

M Construction (WA) Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court on 21 November. M Construction had engaged PAWS Construction to complete the works, including the lowering of the sea container ramp, and PAWS Construction was also prosecuted over the incident and was fined $250,000. The worker was an employee of PAWS Construction and Maintenance Pty Ltd.

Image credit: iStock.com/Natalia Kokhanova. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.