A hops business and cleaning company have been fined $20,000 each for their responsibility over an accident where a woman’s arm was severed at a Myrrhee farm.
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The 25-year-old Malaysian woman was working for SPTC Services on March 16 last year, which was contracted for cleaning duties at Ellerslie Hops.
Prosecutor, barrister Duncan Chisholm, told Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Thursday the woman spoke English, but workmates only gave “brief verbal instructions” in Thai during her three weeks in the job.
She was left to learn by observing them, which included cleaning rubbish from the shaft of the hop processing auger while it was still operating because it took too long to stop and start.
When the woman left her arm exposed in the machine, her glove became caught and the arm was torn from her shoulder. It was unable to be reattached.
Ellerslie Hops pleaded guilty last week to a charge of failing to prohibit employees from entering a dangerous area, and SPTC Services pleaded guilty on Thursday to failing to provide a safe workplace and give proper instructions to staff.
Mr Chisholm said SPTC Services management failed to attended the Myrrhee farm to assess the risks for staff.
“The safety duties of labour hire are not diminished by lack of control,” he said.
Defence barrister Sam Stafford said SPTC Services was remorseful and the incident caused it to close down, after paying out $40,000 worth of wages to workers. He conceded management should have done more than conduct a single visit to the site.
“All steps were taken to ensure (the woman’s) WorkCover was put in place,” Mr Stafford said. “This has had a devastating effect.”
Magistrate David Faram imposed the $20,000 fines, plus ordered the companies pay $4116 each in prosecution legal fees.
“She was left to work out what she was doing by observing others … It was a horrible accident with tragic circumstances for the worker,” he said. “It is essential to always be on guard about the nature of the dangers of unguarded and guarded machines where people can be and are injured on too regular a basis.”
