Fatal hire fine doubled

By Bridget Cook
AN EQUIPMENT hire company has been fined $500,000 after a fatal work accident in 2007 that claimed the life of a Cranbourne South man.
In February of that year, a 44-year-old man was killed when an elevating work platform rolled down the tray of a truck, tipped and crushed him while he was working at a Coates Hire business in Dandenong.
Coates Hire Operations had its fine doubled in Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Monday, which was increased from the $250,000 penalty imposed by the County Court in 2010 and subsequently appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said Coates Hire had two relevant prior convictions and was highly culpable.
WorkSafe’s Executive Director for Health and Safety, Ian Forsyth, said the case illustrated the disastrous results of having safety policies and procedures – but not applying them.
“The increase in penalty is welcome, but it does not take away from the fact that a preventable death has occurred,” Mr Forsyth said.
“WorkSafe’s experience in dealing with many serious workplace safety incidents every year is that most can be prevented at little or no cost.
“Dealing with the known and predictable hazards in your workplace or those which exist in your industry has positive outcomes and not doing so means other workers are exposed to extreme danger and companies can face enormous commercial consequences.”
Redline Towing and Salvage, which employed the man who died and who were sub-contracted by Coates to pick up and deliver plant on their behalf, was convicted and fined $130,000 in 2010.
Dandenong Heavy Haulage, which also transports on behalf of Coates, was convicted and fined $50,000 in the same year.