Record $2.1 million fine over apprentice’s serious head injury

November 21, 2023

[Australia] An industrial component manufacturer and its director have been convicted and fined a total of $2.24 million and the director placed on a five-year Community Corrections Order after an apprentice was seriously injured in Gippsland.

An industrial component manufacturer and its director have been convicted and fined a total of $2.24 million and the director placed on a five-year Community Corrections Order after an apprentice was seriously injured in Gippsland.

Dennis Jones Engineering Pty Ltd and sole director Dennis Jones were sentenced in the Melbourne County Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge each under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was convicted and fined a record $2.1 million for recklessly engaging in conduct that placed a person in danger of serious injury.

Jones was convicted and fined $140,000 for failing to provide or maintain safe systems of work by failing to take reasonable care as an officer of the company. He was also ordered to complete a Community Corrections Order of five years duration with a condition to complete 600 hours of unpaid community work.

In October 2021, Jones directed the 20-year-old apprentice to use a plastic sleeve to steady lengths of steel pipe that he was threading on a lathe at the company’s Morwell workshop.

The apprentice was holding the plastic sleeve on the end of a pipe that protruded nearly 1.5 metres from the rear spindle of the lathe and was struck when the pipe bent and whipped. He was placed in an induced coma, airlifted to hospital, and underwent surgery for serious head injuries.

A WorkSafe investigation found Jones should have been aware of the risk and that it was reasonably practicable to ensure that covers were fixed to the lathe to prevent pipes that protruded from being threaded, or that a fixed steady was used to support such pipes and an exclusion zone used to restrict access to the danger area near the pipe.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said overhanging work pieces were a well-known safety risk when using lathes: “It is incredibly frustrating that this employer had several control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk available but simply chose not to use them.

“The significant penalties for this company and director reflect the life-altering impact this devastating incident has had on a vulnerable apprentice who was at the very start of his career.”

This is valid as of 21st November 2023.

[Australia] An industrial component manufacturer and its director have been convicted and fined a total of $2.24 million and the director placed on a five-year Community Corrections Order after an apprentice was seriously injured in Gippsland.

An industrial component manufacturer and its director have been convicted and fined a total of $2.24 million and the director placed on a five-year Community Corrections Order after an apprentice was seriously injured in Gippsland.

Dennis Jones Engineering Pty Ltd and sole director Dennis Jones were sentenced in the Melbourne County Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge each under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The company was convicted and fined a record $2.1 million for recklessly engaging in conduct that placed a person in danger of serious injury.

Jones was convicted and fined $140,000 for failing to provide or maintain safe systems of work by failing to take reasonable care as an officer of the company. He was also ordered to complete a Community Corrections Order of five years duration with a condition to complete 600 hours of unpaid community work.

In October 2021, Jones directed the 20-year-old apprentice to use a plastic sleeve to steady lengths of steel pipe that he was threading on a lathe at the company's Morwell workshop.

The apprentice was holding the plastic sleeve on the end of a pipe that protruded nearly 1.5 metres from the rear spindle of the lathe and was struck when the pipe bent and whipped. He was placed in an induced coma, airlifted to hospital, and underwent surgery for serious head injuries.

A WorkSafe investigation found Jones should have been aware of the risk and that it was reasonably practicable to ensure that covers were fixed to the lathe to prevent pipes that protruded from being threaded, or that a fixed steady was used to support such pipes and an exclusion zone used to restrict access to the danger area near the pipe.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said overhanging work pieces were a well-known safety risk when using lathes: “It is incredibly frustrating that this employer had several control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk available but simply chose not to use them.

“The significant penalties for this company and director reflect the life-altering impact this devastating incident has had on a vulnerable apprentice who was at the very start of his career.”

This is valid as of 21st November 2023.

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