Prosecution Details

Charge 1 : Being an employer of an employee who incurred a prescribed injury, failed to notify the Commissioner; contrary to sections 23J(1) and 23I(3) of the Act.

Charge 2: Being an employer at a workplace, failed to ensure that every dangerous part of an item of mobile powered plant was, as far as practicable, securely guarded in accordance with regulation 4.29; contrary to regulation 4.37(1)(f) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996, made under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.

At all material times the Accused was in the business of grain growing.

Charge 1

During the year when seeding and harvesting of the grain crop takes place the Accused employs a number of part-time seasonal workers. The injured employee was engaged by the Accused some time prior to 11 November 2005 to perform work associated with the harvesting of the grain crop. On 11 November 2005, in the course of his employment, the employee was operating a grain cleaner.

On 11 November 2005, the employee sustained an entanglement injury when he lifted a rubber cover located near the base of the waste auger, where it attached to the body of the grain separator, and placed his hand through an opening there into the auger mechanism. As a result of this injury, the employee suffered an amputation and partial amputation of the third, fourth, and fifth fingers of his right hand. He was taken to Geraldton Regional Hospital before being transferred to Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth and then returning home to Germany when he was fit to travel. Worksafe WA were unable to obtain any information from the injured person about this incident.

The accused did not provide notification to the Worksafe WA Commissioner of this incident until 1 December 2005. The accused was aware that the Worksafe WA Commissioner needed to be notified of injuries to employees because of a previous incident that occurred at the farm several years ago, which resulted in a notifiable injury. While that incident was also investigated by Worksafe, no charges were preferred at that time.

Charge 2

On the 5 January 2006 a Worksafe WA Inspector attended Mallee Farm in the course of investigations relating to the circumstances surrounding the incident that occurred on 11 November 2005. In the course of inspecting the workplace, the Inspector observed a Chamberlain Champion 306 tractor, with a front-end loader attachment and found that a master guard to the power takeoff (PTO) located at the rear of the tractor was missing. While the tractor was not being operated at the time of inspection, it was set up and available for operation, being used to drive a grain bin auger which transported grain from a field storage bin into a truck. The absence of the master guard exposed any person operating the plant to the hazard of becoming entangled in the moving parts of the PTO drive and the risk of serious injury. It was practicable for the accused to have obtained, or provided and kept in place a guard over the PTO mechanism.

The Accused was found guilty.

Convicted