A NSW employer whose "generic" safe work method statement failed to prevent the death of an 18-year-old trainee has been fined $60,000 out of a possible $550,000. The judge, however, praised its attempts to make safety "a priority". In 2007, a Lithgow Tyre Service trainee was inflating a forklift tyre when the nuts and studs on its two-piece composite rim -...

A Queensland employer adopted an "unreasonable stance" in insisting workers use plastic mats beneath their office chairs - despite complaints they were slippery, the Supreme Court has found in awarding an injured worker more than $400,000 in damages. In 2006 two Invitro Technologies Pty Ltd workers complained to their office manager that the plastic floor mats issued to all...

A recent Queensland case, in which a worker - and not his employer - was convicted over a mining fatality, has highlighted the role a robust safety management system plays not only in reducing incidents, but protecting companies from prosecution, a workplace relations lawyer says. Sparke Helmore partner Matthew Smith told OHS Alert that while he was not directly...

Logistics giant Linfox has been fined $150,000 after a judge found it didn't act on an identified safety risk in time to prevent a forklift crash, which seriously injured a worker. Also in this article, Comcare has launched proceedings against the ARTC over the deaths of two non-employees. In December 2007 the Linfox Australia Pty Ltd worker was driving...

Employers neglect safety's "poor cousin" - health - at their peril, particularly as the two are so often inextricably linked, a safety lawyer warns. Also in this article, a Comcare boss stresses the value of harassment-specific risk assessments. "I see a lot of reference to safety, but not to health," Sparke Helmore partner Paul Cutrone said of his 18...