George James William Walker

Incident description:

On 10 October 2007 a 29 year old worker sustained serious injuries when he fell about waist deep into a footing hole filled and covered with water at a house construction site.

The court acknowledged George James William Walker was a self-employed principal contractor at the work site where the worker was injured.

The court found the defendant held obligations under s.28(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, being a person conducting a business or undertaking.

The incident occurred when the worker attended the worksite to continue fascia and gutter work. Heavy rain the night before had caused large puddles to form on the ground around the house which in turn had filled and covered some holes that were to be used for footings.

The worker placed six-metre lengths of guttering on small work trestles at the front of the house in preparation for work. He placed the guttering sharp-side down for safety reasons. The worker picked up a five-metre plank from the ground to place on the scaffold when he dropped about waist-deep into a footing hole full of water. The plank the worker was carrying landed on the guttering, and rolled it over. His right wrist contacted the sharp edge of the gutter resulting in a serious laceration that severed tendons and nerves.

The investigation findings presented to the court revealed the:

• footing holes were created at the direction of the defendant and in the course of house-building work
• worker did not observe any ply sheeting over the hole or anywhere near the holes at the time he fell
• safety manager of the company (the 'employer') employing the worker injured in the incident stated he attended the site the day after the incident and found there were uncovered holes at the front of the house
• defendant stated that prior to the incident he advised two of his subcontract carpenters to cover the holes with ply and bricks, and was advised that this had been done
• project manager and safety manager of the employer stated that when they inspected the site there was nothing to indicate that ply or bricks had been placed over the holes
• defendant stated, he phoned the supervisor for the employer just after 7:00 am on the day of the incident and advised him not to send workers out to the site because it was too wet
• supervisor of the employer stated he did not recall speaking to the defendant until about 9:30 am.

Court result:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Industrial Magistrates Court on 31 August 2009 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet his workplace health and safety obligations.

Industrial Magistrate Mr Graham Lee ordered the defendant be placed under a 12 month good behavior bond with a recognisance in the sum of $4000 as well as surety of $4000 to the Court and payment of investigation and court costs of $1064.50.

In reaching the decision, the Industrial Magistrate acknowledged the defendant gave instructions that covers were to be placed over the holes and accepted that the defendant was told that this was done. The Magistrate accepted that the holes were necessary but required management by the defendant, and the system relied upon by the defendant had failed.

In deciding the penalty imposed, Industrial Magistrate Mr Graham Lee took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any other workplace health and safety breaches, cooperated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty. The defendant was sentenced with no conviction recorded.

Considerations for prevention:

When working in the construction industry where there is exposure to risks from slips, trips or falls, obligation holders should apply a risk management approach to ensure the selection of suitable control measures.

Risk management involves evaluating the consequences and likelihood of harm that may result from the hazard, deciding on and implementing control measures to prevent or minimise the level of the risk from the hazard and monitoring the effectiveness of the control measures to ensure they remain working correctly.

When deciding on and implementing appropriate control measures associated with the risk of slips trips or falls obligation holders should ensure that such tasks are undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced workers. Obligation holders must ensure that the principal contractors prepare a safety plan and if required a work method statement prior to work beginning on a construction worksite. All workers at the site must have completed construction induction training and hold the appropriate certification if the work being conducted requires it (e.g. operating plant, installing scaffolding).

Control measures that should be considered when there are risks associated with slips, trips and falls in the workplace include:

• design considerations
• assessing the weather
• attending to spills immediately
• ensuring sufficient drainage is in place
• ensuring machinery and equipment is serviceable and regularly maintained
• assessing external environment and vegetation
• ensuring staff are trained
• providing and enforcing the wearing of personal protective equipment
• clear signage
• hoarding or barricades
• a secured cover over voids or openings able to withstand the weight of a body falling against it.

Visit the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website for more information on:

• health and safety information for construction
• building and construction guide (orange book) (PDF, 411kB)
• managing risk 
• construction safety plans and method statements
• guide for preventing slips, trips and falls
• ladders, trestles and scaffolding
• guide to guard rail systems and fall protection
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.