Subcontractor Metsquare fined after workplace injury at Wollongong building site
A subcontractor has been fined $450,000 after an apprentice carpenter fell through a shaft in a floor during construction of a high-rise building and was impaled on bars in a serious workplace incident in Wollongong.
NSW
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A subcontractor has been fined $450,000 after an apprentice carpenter fell through a shaft in a floor during construction of a high-rise building and was impaled on bars in a serious workplace incident in Wollongong.
SafeWork NSW prosecuted Metsquare alleging it failed in its duty to ensure workers were safe and it exposed the victim Anuwant Khumkhrong to serious injury at 10-18 Regent St, Wollongong on August 28, 2019.
Metsquare pleaded guilty to the offence in September last year and Judge Wendy Strathdee convicted the company and ordered it pay $450,000 fine in NSW District Court on Friday.
The court heard Mr Khumkhrong was employed at the company as an apprentice carpenter in May 2017.
The company was a subcontractor for TDK Corporation Pty Ltd, to supply, install, complete and certify all temporary and permanent formwork at the construction site of a 21-storey residential building from August 2018.
At the time of the incident, the formwork floor on level 16 was being built and a sheet of plywood was nailed to the deck to cover a column opening to the floor below.
The plywood was not labelled nor marked and on level 15, below the opening, were 10 steel reinforced bars protruding from the concrete floor, with some uncapped.
Mr Khumkhrong was instructed to clean up the level 16 deck and he saw an open penetration which needed to be covered.
He walked to the plywood, intending to cut it and use it as a cover because he believed it was a spare sheet nailed down to prevent it being blown away.
He did not know it was covering an opening and when he lifted the plywood and walked forward, he fell 2.7m to level 15 where he was impaled by the bars.
His co-workers helped him off the bars, one of which penetrated through his upper leg before he was provided first aid and transported to Wollongong Hospital.
Mr Khumkhrong suffered injuries to his genitals, urethra and a 4cm groin laceration.
He required surgery and needed a catheter for about three months, with his injuries resulting in impaired sexual function and psychological injury requiring medication, the court heard.
The company had a Safe Work Method Statement for the installation and dismantling of formwork decks which identified the risk of falls and required all voids to be covered, monitored and clearly marked.
The court heard workers were required to write “penetration” on the plywood used to cover openings but they had not been correctly marking the wood.
Following the incident, SafeWork issued a notice to improve safety at the site and the company distributed a directive to workers for adequate signage and to secure penetration covers.
Judge Strathdee said the company did have safety systems in place for workers and the company was “plainly aware” of its requirements.
She said there was an “obvious risk” to workers in the building and construction industry exposed to inappropriately or inadequately covered penetrations.
Judge Strathdee said avoiding the risk would have “involved little effort and minimal cost”.
“The seriousness of the foreseeable harm to a worker was significant, and the steps available to avoid the risk were straightforward and available to the defendant,” she said.
The court heard the company went into administration and has not operated since entering into a deed of company arrangement on August 16, last year.
The court heard the company intended to sell its assets to an external purchaser following the finalisation of the case.
Fifty per cent of the fine will be paid to SafeWork and Metsquare will need to pay for SafeWork’s legal costs.
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Originally published as Subcontractor Metsquare fined after workplace injury at Wollongong building site
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