‘Robbed of so much’: Widow’s push for inquest into tradie’s death

The grieving wife of a Cairns tradie who fell to his death on a worksite has made a desperate plea for an inquest and believes someone else will die if urgent legislative changes are not made.

THE grieving wife of a Cairns tradie who fell to his death on a worksite has made a desperate plea for an inquest and believes someone else will die if urgent legislative changes are not made.

Father of two Sol Fagan, 40, was installing air ducts at the James Cook University library building at Smithfield in August 2018 when he plummeted 8m.

Workplace Health and Safety charges against Mr Fagan’s employer Alphacool were dropped in the Cairns Magistrates Court last week due to a lack of “available evidence”.

Sol Fagan and Hayley Schoon.

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But Mr Fagan’s wife Hayley Schoon is continuing her fight for answers in a desperate bid to improve workplace safety and believed an inquest could save lives.

Bravely speaking out for the first time since the charges were dropped, she said she was not looking to apportion blame, but to change industry legislation and culture.

“This is his legacy, it means it didn’t happen in vain and it makes it a little bit better,” she said.

“It’s not about who did what, (it’s about) what happened and where it could have been prevented.”

A WHS charge was dropped against Alphacool last week.

Ms Schoon said she wanted clearer legislation on what was deemed a “high risk” space on a worksite and industry changes where those involved in, or witnesses to, serious or fatal incidents could be made more comfortable in giving evidence.

She said families of those involved in incidents needed greater support, with the Office of Industrial Relations only having two family support workers on staff despite more than 100 cases last year alone.

There also needed to be cultural change within worksites, she said, where tradies were often mocked by colleagues for reporting safety hazards.

Sol Fagan with his soulmate Hayley Schoon (left) and their two kids Sojah, 12 and Sophia, 10.

She was also calling for a police investigation to run alongside a WHS investigation with key evidence, including footage from a nearby CCTV camera, not collected.

WHS had initially alleged Alphacool did not formally induct Mr Fagan into workplace safety procedures, it failed to implement safety control measures and it did not provide adequate supervision on the day he died.

Ms Schoon said Mr Fagan was fired from the CPAC site for bypassing his direct supervisor to report safety concerns to the site supervisor.

A spokesman for the Coroners Court of Queensland said last week the matter remained an “open investigation” by Northern Coroner Magistrate Nerida Wilson who was yet to decide whether an inquest would be held.

Mr Fagan was working in JCU’s library at Smithfield when he fell. Picture: Marc McCormack

“Magistrate Wilson is awaiting further outcomes in relation to this matter,” he said.

Ms Schoon, who is set to join WHS’s Consultative Committee for Work Related Fatalities and Serious Incidents next month, said she had “learned a long time ago” not to have expectations, but hoped it went ahead.

“Not just for us, but to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else,” she said.

“This is not about punishing anyone.

“The investigation has let us down, but there are things that can be learned from that.

“No family should have to go through this, no business operator should have to go through this.

Hayley Schoon, pictured with her children Sophia Fagan, 13, and Sojah Fagan, 15, lost her partner Sol Fagan in a worksite accident in 2018. Picture: Brendan Radke

“It’s horrific and it needs to change because it can happen to anyone and it will happen if things don’t change.”

Ms Schoon, who is now considering studying psychology to support other people in crisis, said losing her husband and the father of their two children, Sojah, 15 and Sophia, 13, had taken a horrific toll.

“We talk about Sol all the time and it’s often with laughter,” she said.

“But it’s robbed them of their innocence and it crushes me as a mum.

“It’s the one thing I can’t fix.

“We’ve been robbed of so much. I’m grieving parts of myself, grieving him and what was supposed to be.

“You have a picture in your head and I believed he would be here forever.”

Originally published as ‘Robbed of so much’: Widow’s push for inquest into tradie’s death