PAWS Construction and Maintenance fined over death of tradie Nathaniel Good
PAWS Construction and Maintenance was fined $256,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace after the company pleaded guilty in the Fremantle Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Nathaniel Good, 19, had been employed with the company for three weeks when he assisted his supervisor to lower a 250kg ramp and was fatally struck, suffering a traumatic head injury in November 2021.
A court found the worker had not been properly trained to raise or lower the ramp when he was injured.
It was also revealed a winch was installed to assist with raising and lowering the ramp, but it was not operational at the time of the incident.
WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said it was a sad reminder of the need to have safe work procedures in place for all hazardous tasks in a workplace.
'There was no documented procedure or instructions for the task, which clearly should have been treated as hazardous,' she said.
'Being hit by falling objects is a high-risk area for injuries and fatalities in the construction sector and across other sectors, and I encourage workplace leaders to consult workers and review their controls in relation to preventing objects from falling.
'In considering the types of objects that can fall, it is essential not only to consider dynamic work tasks such as the movement of loads but also other heavy materials that are installed or stored in such a way that they could fall if something goes wrong.
'Some examples are stored stone slabs, large industrial gates, roller doors and motors for roller doors, ramps that are required to be raised and lowered and similar objects.'
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