Hay Australia Victoria stands trial on criminal negligence charges over death of Bendigo father Harley Muir

The moment a Bendigo man was crushed to death in the workplace has been played to a jury, as the company on trial for criminal negligence claimed he took his own life.

The horrific final moments of a Bendigo father killed in the workplace have been shown to a jury as his employers told the court he took his own life.

Harley Muir, 29, suffered fatal injuries when he became entangled in an industrial hay presser just before 12.30pm, February 1, 2021 at Hay Australia Victoria’s factory in Bridgewater, near Bendigo.

The company, at the time of the death, was called Hay Australia Victoria but was charged under the name 623452924HAV PTY LTD.

It has since been purchased by Hay Australia, which has no relation to the court case.

The weeks long trial began in earnest at the Bendigo County Court on Thursday before a jury of 12 after the hay exporter pleaded not guilty to two charges of breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Grieving members of Mr Muir’s family left the courtroom as the prosecution played CCTV of the moment Mr Muir was killed.

Mr Muir placed his body between a stationary and moving part of the machine, potentially investigating a fault, before he was crushed, the prosecution told the court.

The father suffered serious head and chest injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The prosecution argued the “confronting” footage demonstrated the company failed to provide or maintain a plant that was safe and without risks to health.

The prosecution alleged the company should have installed a light curtain — which would cut the power to the machine if an object passed through it — in the area where Mr Muir was killed.

However, the defence argued the machine already had safe guards in place that acted in the same capacity and would isolate the part of the machine that killed Mr Muir from the power source.

The defence argued Mr Muir was a “well trained and experienced operator” who knew how to engage the safety procedure to shut down power to the machine, and there was no reason he should have placed his body in harm’s way.

The defence alleged Mr Muir, who “knew that machine like the back of his hand”, deliberately stepped into the wrong part of the machine with the intention of taking his own life.

The defence claimed Mr Muir was a “troubled soul” and was dealing with family and financial difficulties.

Several witnesses are expected to give evidence throughout the trial, with the jury set to visit the Bridgewater factory on Friday.

The trial is listed to run until December 3 before Judge Claire Quin.

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