Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd to appeal $620K fine over death of Paul Leach at Maningrida

A NT construction company found guilty of breaching workplace safety laws will contest a massive fine.

Paul Leach, 50, was killed when a chain snapped while he attempted to drag a 36-tonne broken excavator down a ramp at a worksite in Maningrida on March 20, 2020.

A Territory construction giant will challenge a $620,000 fine over the death of a father-of-five at a remote worksite.

On Tuesday Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd was sentenced after being found guilty of failing to comply with its health and safety duties, resulting in the death of 50-year-old Paul Leach on March 20, 2020.

Darwin Local Court Judge Ben O’Loughlin found the construction company guilty of two breaches of the workplace safety laws and imposed a $550,000 fine, alongside an order to pay NT WorkSafe $70,000 and a $1500 victim’s levy.

However, two days after his decision NT WorkSafe said the company’s director Theofilos Kalidonis sought to appeal this ruling, taking the case to the Supreme Court on April 14.

The court heard Mr Leach was attempting to drag a 36-tonne broken excavator 100m from the top of a ramp down to a waiting barge at Maningrida.

But the chain snapped, whipping back and striking Mr Leach in the head, causing the fatal injuries.

Paul Leach, 50, was killed when a chain snapped while he attempted to drag a 36-tonne broken excavator down a ramp at a worksite in Maningrida on March 20, 2020.

In the January 31 hearing, Work Health Authority barrister Nick Papas said the company had ample notice of the dangers involved in the “high risk activity” of towing the 36-tonne machine down the ramp.

Mr Papas said that in the immediate lead-up to the fatal incident, there were multiple reports of chains snapping on the remote worksite.

However, the court also heard that Mr Kalidonis had expressly ruled out using chains for the towing job, and had purchased expensive, custom slings to replace them.

When a prior safety incident involving the chains was highlighted to Mr Kalidonis, he told workers: “This is costing me money, anyone who does this again gets fired”.

Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd director Theofilos Kalidonis was cleared of failing to comply with their health and safety duty three years after a 50-year-old worker was killed at a Maningrida worksite.

The court heard that 35 days before the fatal incident Mr Leach and his son bogged the excavator on the mudflats, and on March 12 tried to use chains to retrieve the broken down machinery, but they snapped.

Defence barrister David Edwardson said while Mr Kalidonis fired Mr Leach’s son for the unauthorised use of the machinery, he gave the dad another chance.

“The biggest mistake Mr Kalidonis made was to weaken his resolve to terminate the employment of the now deceased for his defiance on a second occasion to use those chains,” Mr Edwardson said.

He described Mr Leach as “a recalcitrant and defiant employee”, who ignored warnings from Mr Kalidonis and “embarks on a frolic of his own and uses these chains and ultimately they snapped”.

While verbal warnings were given to workers, Judge Ben O’Loughlin ruled that the business operator then failed to create a safety plan, and distribute it to his workforce for the ‘high risk’ towing activity.

Mr Papas said while the “cost and suffering” to an employer for neglecting safe workplace duties was a fine, the cost to the worker was their life.

In an emotional hearing last month, Mr Leach’s daughter Kimberly told the court she had been left with an “agonising heartache” after losing her father.

“My father was my rock, my everything,” Ms Leach-Devery said.

Paul Leach's daughter Kimberly Leach-Devery outside court after Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd was found guilty of two counts of failing to comply with a health and safety duty. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms Leach said mere sight of an excavator or a chain would bring horrific flashes of her father’s final moments, with the past five years marred by “constant panic attacks and nightmares”.

“He was 50 years old, but his attitude would make you think he was still 30,” she said.

Kalidonis was the first company charged with industrial manslaughter in 2022, but the charge was downgraded in March 2023, while all charges were dropped against Mr Kalidonis in September that same year.

Originally published as Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd to appeal $620K fine over death of Paul Leach at Maningrida