WorkSafe Victoria | A transport company has been convicted and fined $200,000 after a truck driver was seriously injured while performing high risk work without a licence or supervision.
WVCT Oz Pty Ltd, trading as Western Victorian Crane Trucks, was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to provide information, instruction, training, or supervision to enable an employee to work safely.
The company was also ordered to pay $5,556 in costs.
In September 2024, the driver was using a remote-operated vehicle-mounted crane to unload steel trusses at a Charlemont construction site when the crane locked down because the load was too heavy.
He attempted to manually reposition one of the trusses, as he had previously been instructed, when the crane slewed and the load pinned him to the ground, causing a broken wrist that required a metal plate and 10 screws.
The court heard that the driver did not yet have a high-risk work licence, and this was the first time he had attempted this task on his own, after starting with the company three months earlier.
The court also heard that day before the incident, the driver had told his supervisor he was not comfortable making the delivery by himself, but he was told he would lose his job if he didn’t.
A WorkSafe investigation found it was necessary for WVCT Oz to reduce the risk of workers being struck by a steel frame and seriously injured or killed by supervising employees performing the task if they did not hold a high-risk work licence.
