Carl Delaney: Whittens fails in bid to have Inpex death case dismissed

A COMPANY charged over the death of a Darwin Inpex worker has failed in a bid to have the case thrown out of court

Dominic Delaney’s mother, Terry, is seeking compensation for the death of her husband, Carl, on behalf of the family.

• Wife of dead Inpex worker sues gas giant for compensation
• Allegations against subcontractor ‘unclear’ in case of Inpex workplace death, court hears

A COMPANY charged over the death of Darwin Inpex worker Carl Delaney in 2017 has failed in a bid to have the case thrown out of court.

Whittens Group was charged with breaching its duty of care to Mr Delaney along with another company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, before the case against KHI was later dismissed in the Local Court.

But the court held the charge against Whittens remained on foot and the company subsequently appealed that ruling in the Supreme Court.

MORE NT COURT NEWS

Darwin ‘family man’ jailed over commercial drug racket involving ‘roughly 100lb’ of cannabis

Teen who stabbed close friend in the heart in the Bagot Community pleads guilty to manslaughter

Haileybury sues firm that advised it on Kormilda takeover, claiming resulting ‘loss and damage’

Whittens argued the wording of the charge did not make clear exactly what measures the company allegedly should have put in place to prevent the fall that killed Mr Delaney.

But in dismissing the appeal on Wednesday, Justice Sonia Brownhill found the complaint specifically nominated steps that could have been taken, such as not allowing employees to work alone in confined spaces and conducting equipment checks.

Justice Brownhill said Whittens argument that it wasn’t clear whether it was alleged the company failed to have the measures in place or that its staff simply ignored them was also not made out.

2017: Dominic Delaney carriers a 'Dad' flower bed at the funeral of Carl Delaney held at Darwin Funeral Services. More than 300 family and friends were in attendance.

“Essentially, what the complaint does is identifies a safe work method, alleges that the plaintiff’s workers did not follow that method and alleges that their failures to do so comprised a breach of the plaintiff’s duty to ensure the health and safety of its workers,” she said.

“It is obvious that at base what is alleged is that the plaintiff failed to ensure its workers followed the safe work method, essentially by a failure to supervise their work.

“Consequently, it seems to me that the complaint gives the plaintiff a reasonably clear and intelligible statement of the factual manner in which the plaintiff’s acts or omissions are alleged to constitute the specific offence.”

$1 FOR ALL YOUR NEWS? HERE’S HOW: Sign up now to our amazing deal of $1 for 28 days

NT WorkSafe alleges Mr Delaney was working alone and was not “hooked up” by a safety harness when he fell into insulation inside a cryogenic tank and suffocated.

Last week the NT News revealed Mr Delaney’s widow, Terry Delaney, had launched civil action in the Supreme Court seeking compensation on behalf of herself, Mr Delaney’s three sons and his mother and brother.