WorkSafe allege man left without hospital treatment for six days after drum explosion

A cattle mustering contractor has been charged with four Work Health and Safety breaches after an 18-year-old was severely burnt in an Avgas drum explosion in 2019 and allegedly left for six days with second degree burns before he was transported to hospital

A cattle mustering contractor has been charged with four Work Health and Safety breaches after an 18-year-old was severely burnt in an Avgas drum explosion in 2019 and allegedly left for six days with second degree burns before he was transported to hospital.

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NT WorkSafe allege on April 13 2019, Kerr Contracting & Co owner Aaron Peter Kerr and his workers were mustering at a camp on Montejinni Station, approximately 320 kilometres south west of Katherine when he asked a worker to cut the lid off a 44-gallon Avgas drum for use as a rubbish bin.

It is claimed another worker was asked to help by Mr Kerr while he and the other workers went to muster cattle.

The government agency alleges the two workers attempted to wash and clean the drum, before an 18-year-old worker used an angle grinder to cut the drum causing an explosion.

As a result, the young worker received burns to the hands, arms, face and nasal passages.

NT WorkSafe will also allege that despite a first aider at Montejinni Station assessing the injuries as first and second degree burns, Mr Kerr exposed the injured worker to further serious injury, illness or death by not contacting emergency services or ensuring the worker had access to appropriate medical treatment and advice.

Appropriate medical treatment was not available at the camp or at Montejinni Station, despite the injured worker complaining of persistent pain and discomfort, and a worsening of his condition.

It would be a further six days before the injured worker was transported from the camp at Montejinni Station and admitted into Katherine Hospital.

Mr Kerr faces two charges of reckless conduct for failing to ensure the health and safety of his workers, the most serious charge available for a serious workplace incident that does not involve a death.

He also faces one charge for failing to notify NT WorkSafe of a notifiable incident until seven days after the incident and an additional charge for failing to preserve the site of an incident.

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