Workers were told to ‘work with what they had’: Gough Plastics

One worker dead, a second struck in the head, and a third in a 16-day coma – the workplace safety record of Gough Plastics was laid bare this week in a Townsville courtroom.

Ian Gough (left) director of Gough Plastics pleaded guilty on behalf of Gough Plastics to one count of fail to comply with a health and safety duty (category two).

One worker dead, a second struck in the head, and a third in a 16-day coma – the workplace health and safety record of Gough Plastics was laid bare this week in a Townsville courtroom.

On Monday, November 25, Gough Plastics director Ian Gough attended court where he pleaded guilty on behalf of Gough Plastics to one count of failing to comply with a health and safety duty (category two) for a 2022 incident that left one worker in a 16-day coma.

The court heard the family-run business was supplied with plans for an approximately 600kg water tank by a client, to be built in the Ingham Rd workshop.

Workplace health and safety lawyer Jacqueline Ball said upon receiving the plans, workers told Ian Gough they were concerned there were no anchor points or “lifting lugs” on the tank.

“Workers had not constructed a tank of this size or weight before,” Ms Ball said.

“(Mr Gough) did nothing to address the workers’ concerns, just advised them to ‘do what they needed to do’ to manufacture the tank. The workers were left to work out for themselves how to do the construction.”

2002: Ian Gough. Picture: Fiona Harding

The court heard the workers came up with their own plan and attempted to lift and flip the 3.3m tank base by using a method they employed for smaller tanks.

A gantry crane was clamped onto the tank base’s central weight point and used to lift the base up while workers removed a table from under it, before it was placed on the ground.

2013: Gough Plastics director Simon Gough inside the workshop

The clamp was then removed from the central weight point and placed onto the outer edge of the base, where it began to lift the base up at an angle as workers attempted to flip it over.

At around 72 degrees – nearly vertical – the clamp slipped and the tank base fell onto a worker who’d been operating the crane, striking his legs and entrapping them, and knocking him backwards where his head made contact with the concrete floor.

The worker fell unconscious and was in a coma for 16 days, spending five months in hospital, most of that time inside a brain injury unit.

Ms Ball said an investigation was launched into the incident.

“Workers had sought a different crane but were told to ‘use what they had’,” she said.

“There was nothing in place to address the risk … (Mr Gough) did nothing to address the workers’ concerns.”

Ms Ball said the incident was especially egregious considering the business had already been fined in 2017 for a workplace death, and was actively under investigation for a serious workplace injury when the tank base incident occurred.

Gough Plastics workplace incident timeline

2015 – Luke Summers, 24, dies after two forklifts were used to move a tank up a ramp, only for the tank to fall back

2017 – Gough Plastics is fined $120,000 for the workplace death

2021 – A large mould falls on a worker, striking his head and shoulder causing serious injury

2022 – A crane clamp slips, causing a large tank base to fall onto a worker’s legs, entrapping him and causing him to hit his head on the floor

2023 – Gough Plastics fined $100,000 for the second incident

2024 – Gough Plastics fined $100,000 for the third incident

Ms Ball argued Gough Plastics should be fined close to $150,000 for the crime.

Gough defence lawyer Travis Schmitt argued for a lesser fine, pointing out that since the 2022 incident the business has moved to another location and now has “line markings and exclusion zones” in their new workshop.

Magistrate Susan Warrington fined Gough Plastics $100,000 for the 2022 workplace injury, and recorded the conviction.

Originally published as Workers were told to ‘work with what they had’: Gough Plastics