skip navigation
Back

Prosecution Details

Offender Craig Robert Lee

Charges

Swipe to see more information
Charge Charge Number Offence Date Date Convicted Regulation Section Penalty Provision Penalty Imposed Date Sentenced
1 PE32293/11 9 July 2009 18th August 2011 20A(3)(c) $2,500.00 18th August 2011
Description of Breach(es)

Being an employee did not take reasonable care to avoid adversely affecting the safety or health of any other person through any act or omission at work, and by that contravention caused serious harm to any other person, contrary to sections 20(1)(b) and 20A(3) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

Background Details

On 9 July 2009 at a car spare parts warehouse, racks and walkways between racks were being installed.  There was to be three levels of walkways.  The ground floor was concrete and the two upper floors steel. The steel floors were accessed by stairs.

The upper two walkways were made up of mesh panels screwed to a metal frame.  

The Accused who was employed by a company who supplied and installed racks and walkways was managing the installation of the racks and walkways at the car spare parts warehouse. Two other employees were labourers working on the installation at the Accused's direction.

The steps up to the first floor had a sign in front of them saying "No Entry Unsafe Surface". 

The area in which work was being carried out was also isolated by yellow tape around it. 

The Accused instructed one of the labourers to unscrew one side of the mesh panels on the first level so that the width of the walkway could be narrowed. The screws that were removed held the mesh panels to the frame of the walkway.  The labourer followed the Accused's direction to do this. 

A Project Manager employed at the car spare parts warehouse asked the Accused if he could access the walkway. The accused said that he could access it. Previously the Accused had told one of the labourers never to allow anyone access to the walkways because they were not safe.

While standing on the first level of the walkway the unscrewed side of the panel the project manager was standing on collapsed and he fell 2.6 metres onto the concrete pad below. 

The project manager suffered injuries including; concussion, a fractured pelvis, injury to knee, injury to vertebrae, and an abdominal haematoma.  He also suffered an injury related myocardial infarction (heart attack) several days after the incident.




Outcome Summary

The Accused plead guilty.

Court Magistrates Court of Western Australia - Perth
Costs $1420.70

Search the records of all successful prosecutions taken by WorkSafe under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 since 1st January 2005. Searching and indexing of this database is limited to convictions for offences against the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 committed on or after 1 January 2005, when the statutory offence and penalty regimes were significantly amended.

Offences committed prior to 1 January 2005, while of limited comparative relevance, can be accessed via the following link.