Solahart Hervey Bay fined $40k after worker falls from ladder

A Queensland solar installation business has been fined $40,000 after a plumber fell from a ladder at a two-storey home.

Court documents said Solahart had only considered the use of ladders for access and did not account for working from ladders or how ladders were to be tied off.

A Hervey Bay solar installation business has been fined $40,000 after one of its workers fell from a ladder and suffered spinal injuries.

Cmp & Dcm Pty Ltd, trading as Solahart Hervey Bay, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with health and safety duty – category 2 before Hervey Bay Magistrates Court in March 2023.

According to court documents, the incident happened on September 16, 2020, when a solar hot water system was being installed at a two-storey Urangan home.

Workers were also installing solar panels and removing an existing water tank.

Plumber David Saunders was at the site on an extension ladder, which another worker had placed in the garden and secured to a gutter with elastic straps.

While the other worker was doing electrical work, Mr Saunders was using the extension ladder when he began to feel he was falling away from the wall, according to the court documents.

Cmp & Dcm Pty Ltd, trading as Solahart Hervey Bay, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with health and safety duty category 2 before Hervey Bay Magistrates Court this month.

He reached out to grab the drainpipe, which gave way under his weight.

Mr Saunders then fell to the ground, suffering significant injuries to his lower spine, including a compression fracture to his L1 vertebra, according to the court documents.

His injuries meant he now had to use a catheter to urinate and had to manually evacuate his bowels, the documents read.

In the aftermath of the incident, another man was subcontracted to fix the damaged drainpipe and finish the job.

According to court documents, he required Solahart to pay to hire a boom lift as he considered performing the work from a ladder to be unsafe.

Court documents said Solahart had only considered the use of ladders for access and did not account for working from ladders or how ladders were to be tied off.

It did not provide for any additional safety features for workers working from heights, the documents read.

Solahart had been subject to previous improvement and infringement notices from Work Health and Safety Queensland in respect to unsafe working from height practices, the documents read.

Solahart Hervey Bay director Darren Page described the incident as a “freak one-off accident” in his affidavit, and said the risk of a similar one was extremely low.

The affidavit said he was sorry and remorseful and had taken reasonable steps to improve safety.

Court documents said the business had a good record and excellent reputation and there had been no similar incidents in about 15,000 rooftops installations by Solahart in more than 11 years.

It was described as a “longstanding, responsible corporate citizen”.

The company was fined $40,000 and no conviction was recorded.