Michael Gorman to face trial over fatal forklift accident in Lara

A man will stand trial over a 2021 fatal forklift accident in Lara, as a court heard he should have been aware of the hazards involved in operating a forklift.

Michael Gorman, 52, has been charged with reckless endangerment of a person at a workplace and failing to take reasonable care. Picture: supplied.

A man will face the County Court over a fatal forklift accident in Lara after a magistrate committed the matter to trial.

Michael Gorman, 52, appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court accused of two charges – reckless endangerment of a person at a workplace and failing to take reasonable care – stemming from the accident on October 16, 2021.

Glenn Humm, 49, was killed in the incident, which happened at Air Radiators in Lara.

A committal hearing was held on Tuesday and Wednesday before magistrate Urfa Masood.

The court heard that Mr Gorman and Mr Humm were tasked with moving a stillage containing steel with a combined weight of more than 1.3 tonnes, to give a crane access to part of the workshop.

Glenn Humm, 49, was killed in a workplace accident at Air Radiators on October 16, 2021. Picture: Tucker's website.

During the process, Mr Humm was hit and killed by the load.

Mr Humm’s family were present in court during the hearing.

Mr Gorman’s lawyer Amanda Dickens quizzed Air Radiators employees about the company’s hierarchy and whether or not enough risk assessment had taken place before the accident.

Ms Dickens submitted that Mr Gorman’s part in the incident did not meet the “committal threshold” for recklessness, because recklessness required foresight on the part of the accused.

Ms Dickens told the court that Mr Gorman did not see Mr Humm enter the 3m exclusion zone around the forklift and that moving the stillage was an unusual task that had not adequately been assessed for risks.

“If there had been an agreed-upon system of doing this, and Mr Gorman had ignored that, I would not be making this submission. He did not have that,” Ms Dickens said.

The prosecution told the court it was a “factual matter” for a jury to decide, that Mr Gorman was “aware of specific hazards relevant to these charges” and that recklessness “could be inferred”.

“He’s aware that he’s engaging in an undertaking that is inherently high risk, he’s operating a forklift and in order to do so, one needs a high-risk work licence,” the prosecutor said.

The court also heard testimony from employees regarding safety concerns around the forklift and an angled slope and drain outside one of the facility’s entrances.

One worker testified that he regularly raised safety concerns, including about the forklift, which took “20 minutes” to start up and would “lurch forward” when put into drive.

A supervisor testified that he had discussed both the forklift and the drain.

The man said the gutter or drain had been traversed regularly “for 20 years without incident” and that “anyone who has a forklift licence knows that rule (not to change direction on a slope)”.

He said the forklift itself had been described to him as “not unsafe” but “an inconvenience”, stating he had been told it was “less than ideal, but not a safety issue”.

Ms Masood committed the matter for trial. A directions hearing in the County Court has been scheduled for May 14. 

Originally published as Michael Gorman to face trial over fatal forklift accident in Lara