Pam Gurner-Hall’s last words to partner Jorge Castillo-Riffo before he was fatally injured at new RAH site

PAM Gurner-Hall’s last words to life partner Jorge Castillo-Riffo, who was crushed while working on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital site, were “be careful on the scissor lift”.

PAM Gurner-Hall’s last words to life partner Jorge Castillo-Riffo, who was crushed while working on the new Royal Adelaide Hospital site, were “be careful on the scissor lift”.

Mr Castillo-Riffo, 54, a larger-than-life character and safety advocate, suffered fatal head, neck and back injuries while working on a scissor lift on November 27 last year.

Ms Gurner-Hall, 58, of Aldinga Beach, is still waiting answers about his death and is hoping the current investigation into the incident will result in a coronial inquest.

TELL US BELOW: Workers: Has safety on the site improved?

“The last thing I said to him that morning was ‘be careful on the scissor lift’,” she said.

“My own words are the first indication of the fact that there is something sitting around this incident that should not have occurred.

“He had shown some concern about the use of the scissor lifts on the site and he’d been quite vocal about that in the weeks leading up to it.”

She has spoken out two months after his death so he could first be remembered as the “dynamic and utterly authentic” character and huge personality he was to his family, friends and workmates.

“I didn’t want any of the politics around how he died to take over the agenda,” she said.

“There will be a time for that when the coroner’s report comes out.”

She described Mr Castillo-Riffo, who was born in Chile, as a “safety nut” who was respected among his workmates.

“He was an absolute fanatic with safety,” she said. “I have books he wrote every year — diaries — on safety issues he’d find in sites. I’ve got them, 10 years long.”

She said she endured nightmares about his death. “This is horrifying. You don’t know what to feel first. Horror, terror or just loss,” she said.

It is not known how long Mr Castillo-Riffo was left crushed between a ledge and the scissor lift he was working on at the time.

His jaw had been broken, his brain became swollen and the blood to his brain was cut off. He suffered a heart attack.

“He didn’t have a mark on him except for on his neck ... a big purple mark across his neck,” she said.

The couple had lived together for 14 years.

They met in 2001, about eight years after Mr Castillo-Riffo moved to Australia.

“There’s a big void. Coping is really hard,” she said.

TELL US BELOW: Workers: Has safety on the site improved?