Elotan Pty Ltd pleads guilty after apprentice roof plumber falls 4m from Ormond rooftop
An apprentice roof plumber has suffered significant injuries after falling from a 4m roof onto a concrete mixer at an Ormond worksite.
Melbourne City
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A young apprentice roof plumber had his arm broken in a shocking workplace accident after he fell from an Ormond roof, landing directly onto a cement mixer.
Family run roof plumbing business Elotan Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on March 24 to one charge of failing to provide a safe workplace and one charge of failing to provide a safe working system.
The court heard the apprentice had arrived at an Ormond worksite in November 2023 with Elotan director Christopher Hall, to find protective scaffolding had been removed from the house they were working on.
Despite this, Hall and the apprentice began work, carrying and installing roof sheets to the home.
After being left to complete the job alone, the apprentice fell 4m when he misplaced his foot, before a concrete mixer broke his fall.
The apprentice was able to get up and walk inside the house, where he called an ambulance.
He was taken to hospital, where it was discovered he had a shattered radius, fractured ulna, a dislocated wrist and required surgery.
Work Safe investigators attended the site for inspection in late November, where they saw two disassembled scaffolding structures at the property.
The company was issued with an improvement notice.
The court heard Elotan passed a follow up inspection on December 14, and had safe work method statements on risk control in place.
On Thursday, defence lawyer Kingston Reid said Hall “acknowledged and accepted the risk was foreseeable”.
“Mr Hall has co-operated with investigators and wrote to the Work Safe inspector admitting they’d done the wrong thing,” Mr Kingston said.
The court heard the apprentice had returned to work after healing from his injuries and still worked for Elotan.
The prosecution argued “the company’s conduct was serious and involved a significant departure from safety circumstances”.
The matter was adjourned for sentencing to June 4.
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