Bradley Alford, who had received his truck driver?s license only two weeks earlier, was killed when the Mack truck overturned on a steep slope and crushed him. His position with Orbit Drilling was his first outside of his home state of Western Australia.
The supervisor, Maurice Barton, who was in charge of the three-person crew undertaking exploratory drilling in Clonbinane, near Wallan in Victoria, was fully aware of the risk. One witness told the court that the slope Alford was instructed to drive down was the steepest he?d seen in his 10 years in the drilling industry.
?If the truck had been in proper working order and Bradley had been a properly qualified and experienced driver, there?s no reason why this task couldn?t have been safely completed,? WorkSafe Victoria?s Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said. ?The investigator who managed this case has told me this is the worst example of failing to maintain vehicles or machinery that he has seen in 24 years on the job.”
Judge Rizkalla told the court that Barton had let down his young charge. The personal costs to Barton, besides his sentence, included the loss of his house, his partner and estrangement from his four-year-old son.
Director of the Perth-based drilling company Orbit Drilling, Martin John Smith, was convicted of being an officer of a company which breached its obligations to provide or maintain for employees plant and systems of work that were safe and without risks to health, copping a fine of $120,000.
Orbit Drilling itself was fined $750,000 for one charge of recklessly engaging in conduct that places another person at a workplace at risk of serious injury.
WorkSafe?s acting director of its construction and utilities division, Allan Beacom, said that health and safety issues need to be addressed as soon as they?re raised.
?The knowledge that the hand-brake was not working should have rung alarm bells as should the difficult driving conditions and the driver?s level of experience,? Beacom said. ?This decision again highlights the high level of duty and the consequences borne by people in supervisory positions.?
Alford’s sister, Christine Serret told The Age she was grateful that the penalties were harsh and that “even though it can’t change the outcome, it means justice has been done for my brother”.
Both Orbit Drilling and Mr Smith have appealed their sentences.
Source: WorkSafe Victoria, The Age