Dandy Premix Concrete fined $120k after Pakenham employee hit by truck
A southeast concrete company has learned its fate after a sickening accident led to the amputation of an employee’s fingers.
South East
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A concrete company has been fined $120,000 after an employee suffered shocking injuries in an accident at Pakenham.
Dandy Premix Concrete Pty Ltd was convicted of failing to provide a safe workplace in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court over the horror incident in July 2018.
The court was told two men were cleaning up spilt slurry at the company’s Pakenham batch plant when a concrete truck pulled out, forcing one man to trip and fall under the truck’s wheel.
The man suffered serious injuries including the amputation of one finger and partial removal of two more.
He has required multiple surgeries and ongoing rehabilitation.
The court heard the company did not have a traffic management plan that identified hazards — including collisions between trucks and pedestrians — while spilt slurry was being cleaned up. There were also no risk control measures in place such as exclusion zones or physical barriers to separate pedestrians from vehicles.
“This worker is still living with the consequences of an incident that could have been avoided,” WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Julie Nielsen said.
“It is vital that employers have appropriate traffic management plans and risk control measures in place to keep vehicles and pedestrians at a safe distance.”
The company was convicted of failing to provide a safe workplace by failing to take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate the risk of powered mobile machines colliding with pedestrians.
It was fined $120,000 and also ordered to pay costs of $13,850.