Businessman fined $60,000 after man fell to his death from ladder

AN Auburn businessman has been fined $60,000 after a man fell to his death from a ladder in an accident.

AN Auburn businessman has been fined $60,000 after a man fell to his death from a ladder in an accident.

The case comes amid a safety blitz on employers not protecting their workers from the risk of falling from heights, following a tripling of fall incidents in the past five years.

Ru Dong Li, 53, was convicted and and fined earlier this month when a 58 year old man died in Sydney’s west after falling more than 2.4 metres from a ladder while installing security cameras.

The Sydney District Court heard that Li did not trained nor supervise the worker, nor had hired a more safer mobile scaffolding system at a cost of just $124 a day.

A 58-year-old man died in Sydney’s west after falling more than 2.4 metres from a ladder.

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Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean said the 2016 incident showed that falls can happen in a split second, and have tragic consequences if safety procedures are not followed.

“Mr Li had been engaged to install seven security cameras at a mechanical repair shop in Auburn, and hired a worker on a casual basis to assist,” Mr Kean said.

“He left the worker on his own, more than two meters up a ladder, while setting up a second ladder, but when he returned the worker was lying unconscious on the floor.

“This poor man sustained a broken jaw, injuries to his shoulder and hip, and severe head injuries in the fall. He passed away in hospital the following day.

“It was a tragic accident, but one that could have been avoided.”

WorkSafe introduced new on-the-spot fines for employers late last year for employers not protecting their workers from the risk of falling from heights.

Last year alone the watchdog attended 234 incidents involving falls from heights, with more than half these incidents occurred in the construction industry.

Eight workers have been killed in NSW during 2017, as a result of a fall from height.

Mr Kean said SafeWork NSW is now conducting a 12-month safety blitz after statistics revealed that falls from heights had more than tripled in the last five years.

“SafeWork will continue to target workplaces that don’t have the required safety procedures in place to protect workers,” Mr Kean said.

“We want to do everything we can to ensure a tragedy like this doesn’t happen again.”