Electrical company fined over worker’s death - 10.2.15

The Bunbury Magistrates Court has fined a local electrical contracting company and one of its employees a total of $44,800, following a 2013 incident, where an 18-year-old trades assistant was electrocuted while working on a roof.

The company was fined $38,000 after pleading guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment.

The employee, who is a licensed electrician, was fined $6,800 after he pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable care, thus causing the death of the trades assistant

“This tragic incident should serve as a reminder of the extreme importance of checking and re-checking that the circuits being worked on are indeed not live,” WorkSafe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said.

“When working with or around electrical circuits, any assumption could be a fatal one.

“Further, we need to be very conscious that working in roof spaces presents a host of risks, and strict safe systems of work need to be in place, especially when electricity is also involved.

(Source: OHS News)