Toowoomba construction company fined $38,000 for safety breach
Date issued: 2009-10-06
A Toowoomba construction company has been fined $38,000 after a worker was injured in a fall on a construction site in April 2007.
Brown Engineering & Construction Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba Industrial Magistrates Court on 12 June 2009 to breaching section 24 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to ensure workplace safety.
The Court heard a worker for a sub-contractor on the construction site where the company was principal contractor had placed a ladder against a steel beam on the building to access the roof frame/purlins to take measurements. His left leg was broken when the beam fell, causing him to fall 5.5 metres to the ground.
The Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigation revealed the company was responsible for leaving the steel beam unsecured at the end of work the previous day.
As a result of the incident the company now uses signage and barricading around work areas, all bolts which have been tightened are marked, and builders have to obtain information from the company before other workers are allowed access.
Industrial Magistrate Mr Michael Quinn, in addition to the fine, ordered the company to pay investigation, professional and court costs totalling $2560. No conviction was recorded.
The prosecution was brought by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, a part of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
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