Australia, Aug. 2 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 2:

1. On 2 September 2022 a woman and her three young children were walking home along a footpath on Parramatta Road, Leichardt when a 200-kilogram sliding gate (Gate) was opened, overran its supports and fell onto them, causing them to be injured.

2. SafeWork NSW as the prosecutor instituted proceedings against the company that had arranged for the Gate to be installed, 465 Leichhardt Pty Ltd, the defendant in these proceedings. The defendant subsequently entered a plea of guilty to a Category 2 offence under s 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS Act), namely that it failed to comply with its duty pursuant to s 20(2) of the WHS Act to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace, the means of entering and exiting the workplace and anything arising from the workplace are without risks to the health and safety of any person by exposing the woman and her three children to a risk of serious injury.

3. The nature of the risk to which the defendant pleaded guilty was:

"10. ... the risk to persons in the vicinity of the Gate, in particular [the primary victim] and her three children, suffering death or serious injury as a result of being struck by the Gate falling on them."

4. The defendant by its plea accepted there were reasonably practicable steps that it failed to take that would have eliminated or minimised the risk arising. The particulars to which it pleaded guilty were:

"a) Undertaking a workplace inspection of the Site which identified hazards associated with the Gate, including hazards arising from the manual operation of the Gate due to the absence of a Gate motor, the lack of physical end stops on the metal track of the Gate, the lack of a stopper post at the end of the track, the inadequately fitted metal track, and the loosely fitted guide rollers;

b) Conducting a risk assessment to identify that the Gate presented a risk to members of the public using the footpath, and to workers manually opening and closing the Gate to access the Site, and to identify the control measures to be implemented to manage the risk, including the measures set out below;

c) Providing and installing, or arranging for a competent person to provide and install, an adequate physical stop at the end of the metal track to prevent the Gate from overrunning past its guide rollers;

d) Providing and fitting, or arranging for a competent person to provide and fit, to the Gate an adequate stop mechanism at the top and/or bottom of the Gate to prevent the Gate from overrunning past its guide rollers;

e) Providing and installing, or arranging for a competent person to provide and install, a stopper post at the end of the metal track of the Gate to prevent the Gate from overrunning past its guide rollers;

f) Erecting hoarding, or security fencing, with an inward-opening Gate along the full length of the Site adjoining the external footpath;

g) Installing an inward-opening gate which opened into the Site instead of one opening upon or immediately next to the external footpath;

h) Taking the Gate immediately out of service unless an adequate physical end stop and/or end post was installed at the end of the metal track to prevent the Gate from overrunning past its rollers;

i) Prohibiting the Gate from being touched, and keeping it open and unlocked so as to allow access to the Site, pending installation of an adequate physical stop and/or stop post at the end of the metal track;

j) Placing signage on or near the Gate to warn persons in its vicinity of the risk that the Gate might fall.

k) Developing and implementing a safe work method statement or safe work procedure for the safe operation or use, inspection and maintenance of the Gate."

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/197a041ed519c74d58b4d22c)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.