John Walter Christie

Incident description:

On 10 December 2009 a 45 year old male worker sustained injuries after falling through a hole in a floor.

The court acknowledged John Walter Christie was the sole trader involved in the construction of a residential premises.

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

A hole was cut in a floor for a stairwell and left uncovered. One of the derfendant's workers was putting in and bracing a verandah post near the penetration. After stepping down from the saw horse he was on, the worker fell 4.3 metres through the penetration to the ground below. His injuries included a broken collar bone, fracture of the right forearm and fractures through the upper femur.

The investigation findings presented to the court alleged:

• no formal induction was given to the two workers
• the injured worker was experienced
• the defendant did not provide edge protection or an adequate cover over the stairwell void
• at the time of the incident the defendant was in the process of covering the void
• the defendant had conducted a risk assessment although this was not documented
• the defendant had no previous convictions and had been in business for over 30 years.

Court result:

Mr Christie pleaded guilty in the Caloundra Industrial Magistrates Court on 10 March 2011 to breaching s.24(1) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, having failed to meet his workplace health and safety obligations and was sentenced with no conviction recorded.

Industrial Magistrate Ms Stephanie Tonkin ordered the defendant be placed under a 12 month good behavior bond with a recognisance in the sum of $5000 and ordered investigation costs of $1500.

In deciding penalty, Industrial Magistrate Tonkin took into account the defendant had not been prosecuted previously for any workplace health and safety breach, cooperated with the investigation and entered an early plea of guilty. The court took into account no element of specific deterrence was necessary as the defendant was 69 years of age and moving towards retirement.

Considerations for prevention:

(Commentary under this heading is not part of the Court's decision.)

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

Any voids or penetrations present on a construction site, no matter how obvious, should be carefully controlled. Without adequate control, any lapse of attention can have catastrophic results.

Risk management involves:

• identifying the hazards
• evaluating the consequences and likelihood of harm that may result from the hazard
• deciding and implementing control measures to prevent or minimise the level of the risk from the hazard
• monitoring the effectiveness of the control measures to ensure they remain working correctly.

When deciding and implementing control measures associated with the risk of height, obligation holders should consider covering all penetrations as required by the regulations and having adequate edge protection.

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

• Work at heights
• Building and construction
• Health and Safety information for construction
• Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008
• Risk Management Code of Practice 2007
• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.