Court Summary - at a glance
Date of offence:
27 November 2018
Plea:
Guilty
Decision:
Convicted
Final decision date:
Fine imposed:
$20,000
Safety lessons learned:
- Develop, document, communicate and implement a safe system of work in relation to work to be undertaken beneath raised vehicles, which provided for the use of appropriate equipment as supports and chocks for the vehicle.
- Provide training, education and supervision in relation to the risks of carrying out work underneath raised vehicles, including training and education in relation to the immobilisation of raised vehicles and use of appropriate equipment to be used to support the vehicle while raised.
Defendant name:
GTT Mechanical 2018 Limited
Industry:
Postal, transport and warehousing
Date of offence:
27 November 2018
Facts in brief:
GTT operates a mechanical workshop servicing diesel vehicles. The victim, then aged 17, was employed as a junior mechanic/trainee. On his second day at work, the victim was tasked to remove the drive shaft of a 6.6T truck. He was instructed to raise the truck up onto blocks of wood and to chock the wheels that remained on the ground. The victim was not advised that due to the nature of the truck, removing the drive shaft would disable the parking brakes of the vehicle. The victim was to be supervised by a qualified diesel mechanic, Mr Khan, however Mr Khan was called away off-site to attend to another vehicle and the victim was left without supervision. Nobody at GTT checked that the victim had adequately chocked the wheels of the truck to prevent it moving, before removing the driveshaft.
The victim accessed the underbody of the truck using a creeper to remove the driveshaft. Once he had done so the truck rolled off the supporting blocks of wood crushing the victim between the creeper and the fuel tank. The victim sustained multiple fractures, a crushed pelvis, a punctured lung and a torn artery. He remained in hospital for 58 days. The victim has been left with a weakness in one leg and a foot disability. He has been advised that this will be permanent. This prevents him from walking normally or for any significant distance, and means that he is unable to run.
The victim accessed the underbody of the truck using a creeper to remove the driveshaft. Once he had done so the truck rolled off the supporting blocks of wood crushing the victim between the creeper and the fuel tank. The victim sustained multiple fractures, a crushed pelvis, a punctured lung and a torn artery. He remained in hospital for 58 days. The victim has been left with a weakness in one leg and a foot disability. He has been advised that this will be permanent. This prevents him from walking normally or for any significant distance, and means that he is unable to run.
Offence section:
Sections 48(1) and 2(c), and 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Date(s) charged:
1 October 2019
Court:
Hamilton - District Court
Plea:
Guilty
Final decision date:
Decision:
Convicted
Fine imposed:
$20,000
Maximum fine available:
$1,500,000
Reparation:
$50,000 for emotional harm
$2,429.55 costs
$2,429.55 costs
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