Tyler Whitton dies after 4m fall at West End building site

A teenager has died in hospital after falling 4m while working on an inner-Brisbane construction site that had been flagged over previous safety concerns.

A young apprentice has tragically died two days after falling 4m down a hole at a Brisbane worksite that has had previous claims of safety concerns.

Friends and family say Tyler Whitton, 17, was a loving child just starting out in the workforce.

On Tuesday, Tyler fell through a hole, dropping about 4m to another level, leaving him with significant head injuries at a CS Development Group worksite on Victoria St at West End.

Tragically, Tyler succumbed to his injuries on Thursday morning.

Tyler’s grandfather Jack Whitton posted on social media the family were completely numb.

“Even in my grief as Tyler’s grandfather, I cannot even begin to ­imagine the extreme pain that my son Luke and his partner Letitia and Tyler’s mother Jess are going through,” he said.

“Such an enormous tragedy for someone so young, in his first year as an apprentice builder.”

Teenager Tyler Whitton is in a coma after a workplace accident.

A friend of the family told The Courier-Mail Tyler was a good kid who didn’t deserve what happened.

“We are absolutely devastated,” the friend said.

“He was just starting his life in the workforce.

“He loves footy, Xbox and his friends and family.”

Another family friend said he was a cheeky kid who was on a good path.

“He’s started working, doing Muay Thai,” he said.

“He’s a responsible kid, he’s polite, well-mannered, it shouldn’t have happened to a kid like that.”

In June, the CFMEU took a video to show CS Development Group’s allegedly unsafe site. At the time the union claimed the builder’s concern was productivity over safety.

CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar said, four months ago, he saw concerns with the worksite.

“People were working outside and there was no head protection, there was no scaffolding,” he said. “That site has been stopped on numerous occasions but the problem is, if you are a builder/ developer, you are not bound by anything.

“This job had a poor history in regards to wreckages, even the regulator stopped the job.”

The construction site that a 17-year-old teenage worker fell is meant to be home to Helia – a West End Development.

Mr Ravbar said he had also been made aware of reports that Tyler had been made to purchase his own PPE.

“Under law, it is a requirement for the employer to provide PPE,” he said.

“This young man trying to get a start in the industry didn’t know what his rights were. The builder developer didn’t provide necessary PPE.”

Mr Ravbar claimed Workplace Health and Safety Queensland allowed work to continue after Tyler was taken to hospital and didn’t show up until three hours later.

“The developer was allowed to complete the concrete pour despite clearly identified risk of falls from height at a number of locations on the top deck of the site,” he said.

“The developer saved a few bucks at the expense of its workers – and all under the watch of a broken regulator that is supposed to manage workplace health and safety.”

But a Workplace Health and Safety spokeswoman said inspectors were immediately dispatched after QAS notified them of the incident.

“Inspectors issued a non-disturbance notice to secure the incident scene and commenced investigation,” she said.

The open hole which Tyler fell through.

“With relation to the incident itself, the business operator sent all workers home after the incident except those involved in a concrete pouring operation in a different area of the site,” she said.

“These activities concluded about 30 minutes after WHSQ arrived on site.

“The site has remained closed to all workers since.”

On Thursday WHSQ confirmed compliance notices had been issued to the worksite, which need rectification before the project can restart.

“Compliance notices have been issued requiring rectification of a number of high risk issues before works can recommence,” a WHSQ spokeswoman said.

“Two teams of inspectors attended site the next day (Wednesday) – one to investigate the cause of the incident, the other to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the whole site. “Investigations are continuing with WHSQ back onsite today (Thursday).”

Apprentice Tyler Whitton in his younger years.

The incident comes days after a surveyor died at a project in Victoria Point and months after Nation “Nash” Kouka injured himself after falling 12m from scaffolding at the Cross River Rail project.

CS Development had no connection to these incidents.

The CFMEU said it had also previously flagged concerns over the Cross River Rail ­project.

Mr Ravbar said serious incidents were happening regularly on building and construction sites across the state.

“Instead, it is left to the workers themselves and the general public to come forward and alert the community,” he said.

“The current failed system shields WHSQ from accountability and allows the regulator to shirk its job.”

A CS Development Group (CSDG) spokesman said they were co-operating fully with Workplace Health and Safety.

“CSDG expresses our deepest sympathy and concern for the family of a

worker for an external contractor involved in a tragic accident at our West End site.

“All work on the site has ceased and we are providing counselling to workers affected

by this accident.

“CSDG is committed to the safety and wellbeing of workers, contractors and the public, and employs two full-time safety staff.

“Please understand that we are unable to provide further details during this ongoing investigation.”

The construction site is due to be home to Helia – a West End Development.

The union had safety concerns about a site before an accident left a teen worker in a coma.