A man from Canberra who was struck by a forklift while at work thinks a $300,000 fine will serve as a warning to other businesses.
When Matthew Thompson was working in the yard at Capitol Chilled Foods in 2021, his leg was fractured six times.
Capitol Chilled Foods previously entered a guilty plea to the charge of a category two safety violation that put people at danger of death or serious injury in the ACT Magistrates Court.
Today, Magistrate James Lawton imposed a $30,000 fine on the business.
Magistrate Lawton stated that the corporation was aware of and should have anticipated the possibility of a worker suffering a significant injury or death.
CCTV footage of the collision that was previously given to the court shows the forklift ramming into Mr. Thompson and breaking his leg.
Magistrate Lawton granted the defense’s request for the business to have two months to pay the fine.
Through his victim impact statement, Mr. Thompson earlier admitted to the court that he had undergone many surgery out of fear of losing his leg.
After the accident, he claimed to have felt severe pain, and one leg was now shorter than the other.
The magistrate recognized that the business has since put in place a variety of safety precautions, and that at the time of the catastrophe, the facility had been shut down and employees had been given counseling.
He also noted that the business had admitted it had failed to give its workers the proper training.
The $300,000 punishment, according to ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner Jacqueline Agius, highlighted how serious the event was.
According to her, “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to all duty holders: they must comply with their work health and safety requirements and if they don’t, they will be held accountable.”
“Any employee, family, or community shouldn’t experience what Mr. Thompson did. At the end of their shift, every employee has the right to a safe workplace and a safe journey home.”
Although the Bega firm currently owns Capitol Chilled Foods, the incident happened before the ownership change.
