Cordwell Resources fined $500k, director avoids jail time after workplace incident

A young man dating the daughter of his boss suffered a head injury during a “reckless” repair job as per instructions from the company director.

A sand mining company director avoided jail time after he instructed a young worker, who was in a relationship with his daughter, to take part in a reckless and potentially deadly repair job.

Brian Andrew Cordwell faced Maroochydore District Court for his role in the workplace accident that left then 20-year-old Steel Adams with a head injury.

Cordwell and Cordwell Resources pleaded guilty to one count each of reckless conduct under the Queensland Health and Safety Act.

The 56-year-old company director avoided jail time but the company was fined half a million dollars.

Judge Gary Long said on March 18, 2019, Cordwell held a meeting with Mr Adams, his brother Quinlen Adams, Richard John Armstrong, and Cordwell’s son Jonathan, then 18.

He said Cordwell devised a repair job after a suction line on the sand-wash equipment broke.

Cordwell instructed Mr Adams and his brother Quinlen to stand in a wheel loader bucket to fix it.

Mr Armstrong, then aged 69, raised the bucket to allow the pair to work on the valve while Jonathan used a chain attached to an excavator to lift a pipe out of the way for the Adams’ brothers.

At one point Quinlen held onto his brother to ensure he didn’t fall forward out of the bucket.

But the bucket began to “tilt forward” and Quinlen jumped from it to a beam to safety.

Mr Long said Steel stood up but the top edge of the bucket knocked the back of his head against a chain.

“He could not feel his head and could feel the bucket pushing against him,” Mr Long said.

“The bucket was lowered to the ground and Steel got out, and Quinlen jumped from the beam … and wrapped his shirt around Steel’s head.”

Judge Long said Mr Adams suffered two lacerations to the head that required stitches and were 60 and 100mm in length.

He said the matter was “further complicated” because Mr Adams was in a seven-year relationship with Cordwell’s daughter.

“(This) exposed workers, to whom (Cordwell) owed a health and safety duty to, at risk of death or serious injury,” Judge Long said.

Two days later scaffolding was used to fix the equipment at a cost of $4400.

Judge Long said Cordwell showed “sincere remorse” for his actions, reported it to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland the same day, and co-operated with authorities.

He also took into consideration Cordwell and the company’s early guilty pleas and that neither had previous convictions.

“It is particularly necessary that there be sentences imposed that serve to demount such serious conduct … and deter repetition,” Judge Long said.

“(Cordwell) accepted the offending conduct was serious and the risk presented to the young workers in the bucket was high.”

Judge Long sentenced Cordwell to six months imprisonment, wholly suspended for 12 months and ordered Cordwell Resources to pay a fine of $500,000 within 12 months.

Convictions were recorded.

The maximum penalty for Mr Cordwell’s offence was a $600,000 fine or five years prison and for the company a $3m fine.