Issue Date:  -  Wednesday, 23 July 2003

$20,000 fine brings warning

A $20,000 fine imposed on a South Australian company last week has prompted a reminder from WorkSafe that the responsibility for a safe workplace extends beyond employers and employees.

South Australian company Viticulture Technologies was found guilty in May in the Albany Court of failing to ensure that the design of a machine was safe for use in a workplace. The fine of $20,000 with $9900 costs was imposed last week.

In April 2001, a worker at Crystal Brook Vineyards fell from a grape-picking machine while he was attempting to clear a blockage in the mechanism.

The man sustained serious spinal injuries and was left a quadriplegic as a result of the incident.

The employer - Crystal Brook Vineyards - was also prosecuted by WorkSafe and fined $25,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace, and by that failure, causing a serious injury.

WorkSafe Acting Executive Director Nina Lyhne said today the prosecution of Viticulture Technology had been an important one in a number of ways.

"This is one of the very few cases where WorkSafe has successfully prosecuted the supplier or importer of a machine involved in a workplace incident," Ms Lyhne said.

"It is also an unusual case in that we had to utilise a section of the Australian Constitution to cross jurisdictions to prosecute a South Australian company.

"It was decided by the court that the supplier of the machine had not ensured that the design of the machine was safe, and as a consequence, a worker was very seriously injured.

"Many serious workplace incidents can be completely avoided if safety is built into the design of machinery.

"The successful prosecution of both Crystal Brook Vineyards and Viticulture Technologies should serve as a reminder that everyone connected to a workplace has some responsibility for the health and safety of that workplace - whether it be an employer or an employee, or even a manufacturer or supplier of machinery."