Borelli Concrete Pumping fined $70,000 after 21-year-old worker struck in the stomach by excess concrete in Adelaide

A 21-year-old man had to be placed in an induced coma after he was struck in the stomach by excess concrete and thrown against a fence in a horror workplace incident.

A concrete company has been fined more than $70,000 after a 21-year-old worker cleaning a high-pressure hose was struck in the stomach and thrown against a fence.

Following a SafeWork SA prosecution, Borelli Concrete Pumping Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a health and safety duty and was sentenced in the South Australian Employment Tribunal earlier this month.

The incident occurred in August, 2021 when the company had been engaged to pump concrete to the rear of a newly built house at Vale Park, where a patio and swimming pool were under construction.

Three workers were attempting to clean residual concrete from the hose, which involved pushing the remaining concrete from the hose using air pressure and a foam ball.

Borelli Concrete Pumping was fined $70,000 after a 21-year-old was worker struck in the stomach by excess concrete. Photo: File

To avoid spraying the house with concrete, the workers decided to turn off the air tap and move the hose to the front yard.

Each worker held a section of the hose, creating a kink to control the remaining air pressure as the excess concrete was released.

However, the workers were unaware that air pressure was continuing to build up in the hose.

When a kink was released, the hose began to whip causing one of the workers to lose control of the hose and excess concrete to strike him in the stomach, throwing him into a fence.

The injured worker was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for internal bleeding, a tear to the small bowel and bruising to the duodenum and colon.

He was placed in an induced coma and underwent surgery before being discharged from hospital two weeks later.

Although the crew supervisor briefed the workers before the start of the job, there was no Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) for the task, which is a requirement for high-risk construction work.

The company supported the injured worker after the incident, including engaging him as a full-time employee on modified duties until he was fully fit to work again, and has since upgraded its work health and safety systems and practices.

Deputy President Magistrate Katherine Eaton said the company knew it was high risk construction work.

“It knew that using air pressure to clean the hoses was a potentially dangerous procedure,” she said.

“Yet it relied only on informal and undocumented safety briefings and inadequate assessment and management of obvious risk.”

A conviction was recorded and Borelli Concrete Pumping was fined $72,000.

SafeWork SA executive director Glenn Farrell said the serious injuries suffered by the worker were easily preventable had the company appropriately assessed the risks.

“An appropriate SWMS would have clearly articulated all the hazards associated with this type of work and how such risks could be controlled,” he said.

“It is not good enough to simply rely on a verbal briefing when performing high risk construction work.”

Originally published as Borelli Concrete Pumping fined $70,000 after 21-year-old worker struck in the stomach by excess concrete in Adelaide