Widgee Engineering Pty Ltd charged with failing to comply with health and safety duty – category 2

A catastrophic crane accident which left a Qld construction worker with gruesome head injuries has been detailed in court documents as the safety watchdog slams alleged qualification and exclusion zone breaches.

A worksite at 341 Alice St Maryborough.

The shocking injuries that left a man’s skull exposed after a he was hit by a crane at a Queensland building site have been revealed in court documents.

Widgee Engineering Pty Ltd is charged with failing to comply with health and safety duty – category 2 after a worker was seriously hurt on May 6, 2022, at 341 Alice St, Maryborough which would later house major franchises Forty Winks and the city’s first 7 Eleven.

According to documents tendered in the case, which was briefly mentioned in Maryborough Magistrates Court on Monday, SJ Higgins Constructions Pty Ltd had contracted Widgee Engineering Pty Ltd to work at the site.

They state the crane had been on loan to Widgee Engineering for two months and one of the company’s directors, Peter Saal, was in charge of operating the crane at the relevant time.

It’s alleged in the documents it had been repeatedly discussed onsite that an exclusion zone be maintained and to keep out from under live loads.

Prior to the incident, Mr Saal had used the crane to lift and install 12 steel beams on top of a tall concrete walled structure at the workplace.

The fixing of the beams was part of the roof installation process and each of the beams weighed about 150kg.

Mr Saal, the operator of the mini slewing crane, was required to have a C2 licence, but according to the documents, he only held a CN licence for a non-slewing style mobile crane.

About 12pm on May 6, 2022, Mr Saal was using the crane to lift a steel beam.

Another worker, Brian Harris, was inside the structure and underneath the crane, the documents read.

Mr Harris was holding a rope guiding the beam into place on the roof.

A worksite at 341 Alice St Maryborough.

Mr Saal fully extended the boom to about five metres, when the main hook block contacted the head of the boom of the crane in an action known as two-blocking, the documents state.

The two-blocking allegedly caused the main hoist to snap and drop the beam from a significant height, which then struck Harris on the head and knocked him to the ground.

Two employees came to Mr Harris’ aid and the beam was moved off his chest, the documents read.

He sustained a significant laceration to his forehead and left eye area up to his hairline, with portions of his skulls visible through the wound, according to the documents.

Mr Harris later underwent surgery but had significant scarring.

The incident was reported to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and, according to court documents, an anti-two block limiting device was required to stop all motions of the crane in the event that the hook block comes too close to the boom tip, preventing that type of incident from occurring.

According to documents, investigations found that the crane had multiple defects, the operator Mr Saal didn’t have appropriate licence, and there had not been an exclusion zone established at the time of operation.

The complaint had been made by work health and safety prosecutor Simon Nicholson.

The maximum penalty for Widgee Engineering if found guilty is $1.5 million.

The case was adjourned until October 21, 2024.

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