Built Tech Hoardings pleads guilty after gate leaves woman with lifelong injuries
A woman has been left with lifelong injuries to her ankle and leg after a 250kg gate dislodged and fell on her at a Brighton construction site.
South East
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A woman said she “feared for her life” when a 250kg gate dislodged and trapped her underneath at a Brighton construction site after a safety stopper was removed.
Notting Hill construction company Built Tech Hoardings pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on April 3 to one charge of failing to provide a safe workplace.
The court heard the company had been involved in a construction job in Brighton in June 2022, when the victim was instructed to close the 8m gate for the lunch break.
A safety stopper that would normally have been in place at the top of the gate to stop it from rolling off its frame had been removed, which caused the gate to derail and fall onto the victim.
The victim was trapped beneath the gate for 10 minutes and screamed for help, alerting nearby workers who rushed to her aid.
She suffered a fractured and fully dislocated ankle.
At Moorabbin on Wednesday, the victim said the 10 minutes underneath the gate “felt like an eternity”.
“I believed this was it, this was how I was going to die,” she said.
“It didn’t kill me physically, but this has killed the person I was.”
The victim said she “felt dead inside”.
The court heard her injuries were lifelong, leaving her struggling to stand for more than 15 minutes at a time.
“I can’t do any of the activities I previously loved doing,” she said.
“I can’t go to the beach, go hiking, or even run around playing with my grandson.”
The court heard Built Tech Hoardings had immediately instated stricter safety measures and training for employees after the accident and had fully co-operated with the Work Safe inspector.
Magistrate Robert Stary said the gate was “inherently unsafe”.
“It could have failed at that date or any time beforehand because nobody was aware the stopper had been removed,” he said.
“The obligation of builders to create a safe work environment is extremely onerous.”
Built Tech Hoardings was fined $40,000 without conviction and $4132 in costs.
