Company faces up to $320,000 fine over electric shock

David Nolan was permanently injured when a 33,000 volt electric shock surged through him while working south of Mackay.

A worker was permanently injured when a 33,000 volt electric shock surged through him while working south of Mackay in 2016. Picture: Mike Knott BUN291217POWER1

A FAMILY-run advertising company could face up to $320,000 in fines after the safety of a worker "slipped through the cracks".

David Nolan was permanently injured when a 33,000 volt electric shock surged through him while working south of Mackay.

He had been changing skins on an outdoor advertising sign at Balberra on July 12, 2016 when the aluminium sail track he was using struck a nearby overhead powerline.

Mackay Magistrates Court heard the sign had been within a three-metre exclusion zone to the powerline, which was installed in 1969.

Townsville-based Paradise Outdoor Building Company fought a charge of breaching its electrical safety duty by exposing Mr Nolan to a risk of death or serious injury, but was found guilty after a two day hearing earlier this year. The decision has been appealed.

Acting Magistrate Ron Muirhead found that while Ergon Energy owned the powerlines, the company had been aware it was a hazard since March 2008 and owed a duty to its employees.

Workers were required to feed a three-metre long metal instrument along a sleeve on the sign, the top corner of which was 2.6 metres away from the powerline.

Workplace Health and Safety prosecutor Paul Waltham said the penalty ranged between $300,000 and $320,000, arguing that the "gravity of this offending is serious in nature".

Barrister Alastair Smith, for Paradise Outdoor Building Company, said there was "absolutely no way" that penalty range "fits the crime and circumstances".

He argued that although there was a high risk, workers were not exposed to that risk frequently and the company had prioritised what they perceived as higher risks such as driver safety.

"And unfortunately this fell through their cracks, being a single powerline near a single sign barely within the exclusion zone out of 400 signs in Queensland," Mr Smith said.

He also argued a mitigating factor was that Mr Nolan had gone against company protocol in that the work "was meant to be done from the ground". "Had that occurred there would have been no incident," he said.

Mr Muirhead will hand down his penalty next month.

Originally published as Company faces up to $320,000 fine over electric shock