12:14 pm, Tuesday 22 May, 2007

AAP

THE findings of the investigation into last year’s Beaconsfield gold mine rock fall could be delayed another two months.

The lawyer heading the investigation, Greg Melick, has asked the State Government for an extra two months to study more geotechnical and mining methods evidence.

He was due to release his findings late last year, but was given an extension until next Monday because of the complexity of geotechnical information.

The coroner will not be able to examine the death of miner Larry Knight, who died in the Anzac Day rock fall, until the report is submitted by Mr Melick.

Mr Knight’s colleagues Brant Webb and Todd Russell survived after being trapped for 14 nights almost a kilometre underground in the northern Tasmanian mine.

Premier Paul Lennon has yet to respond to the request for a further delay, which if granted would push back the submission until the end of July.

Mr Melick, a former member of the National Crime Authority, and special investigator for Cricket Australia, would not comment other than to confirm his extension request, and the reasons.

Tasmania’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions last month said it would not lay charges over the accident.

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04:48 pm, Monday 21 May, 2007

Source: AAP

A SYDNEY labourer suffered a string of injuries – including being blinded in one eye and having his jaw fractured – when his boss continually assaulted him, a court was told today.

Sam Kautai, 20, told Downing Centre Local Court today that his boss, Manuel Purauto, used a hammer, his feet and his hands during the attacks.

Mr Purauto, 43, of Hoxton Park in Sydney’s southwest, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Kautai.

Mr Kautai said he left the Cook Islands in June 2004 and worked for Mr Purauto on Sydney building sites.

While he did not have to pay for food or rent when living at the Hoxton Park address – where other employees also stayed – Mr Kautai said he was never paid for any work.

Once when Mr Purauto was standing on a scaffold he “slammed his feet in my face” when Mr Kautai did not answer his calls to join him, the court was told.

“He said I was too slow – he just started kicking me on the face,” Mr Kautai said.

The labourer said he was hit by Mr Purauto many other times, including once when a hammer was used to “crack” his jaw. He could not eat solid food for two months.

Once he was taken to hospital with cuts on his head and bleeding, he said.

“Before we got there, he (Mr Purauto) told me to lie to the doctor, that I fell off the bike,” he said.

A wound on his eyebrow required 11 stitches.

“Doctors also found out I had lost my vision in my right eye,” he said.

He also had problems with his hearing.

“I was scared of Manuel – if I tell the truth I would get another big hiding at home,” he said.

The hearing continues.

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07:43 am, Monday 21 May, 2007

Source: Sunshine Coast Daily

A SUNSHINE Coast hospital is investigating what went wrong after a teenager was sent home with an undiagnosed broken elbow and her X-rays were lost in the system.

Little Mountain teenager Kylie Moon, 19, injured her elbow in a workplace accident last Monday.

Her boss took her to Caloundra hospital for x-rays, only for Kylie to be told to call back on Thursday, when a radiographer had examined the prints.

She was given painkillers and sent on her way.

In a phone call on Thursday, Kylie was told it would take a further two weeks for the x-ray report.

Sending the x-rays to Nambour hospital also proved unsuccessful – worse, the hospital lost the prints.

Kylie has since had her elbow x-rayed at a private practice, and the break diagnosed.

She said she was lucky her injury was relatively minor.

“If something major happened and someone in a critical condition needed x-rays, they could end up dead before the report comes back,” she said.

“It doesn’t help that I have to claim for worker’s compensation – I had to wait to be diagnosed before I could claim so instead of getting paid next week, it will probably be the week after.

“It has an impact financially. Even though I live at home, I need to be independent.”

Kylie’s mother Christine was frustrated by the treatment her daughter had received.

“It’s just ridiculous. The government’s going on about doing this and that but in reality it’s getting worse and worse,” she said.

“Fair enough it can’t be put in a cast, but it could have needed surgery. Until the results were in, no one knew exactly what was wrong.

“To wait three weeks is ridiculous.”

Christine said having the second x-ray done at a private clinic meant the government had two Medicare rebates to pay, for the one case.

“They can’t afford right services in our hospitals but then are forcing Medicare to reimburse people twice,” Christine said.

Kylie has been told the injury will take about a month to heal – if she had waited for her report, the break would have been all but healed before she knew the nature of her injury.

Until then, she has been instructed not to use her left arm at all, and is still taking painkillers.

Sunshine Coast health district manager Kevin Hegarty yesterday said an initial review of the situation revealed “communication could have been improved”.

“When the issue was brought to district management attention on Friday, an initial review indicated the communication process could have been undertaken better,” he said.

“We are keen to pursue a meeting with the patient, her mother and senior clinicians to review the specifics.”

Mr Hegarty said he hoped to begin making arrangements for the meeting today.

Caloundra MP Mark McArdle said the case highlighted the state government’s inability to fund client services.

“Yet again the Sunshine Coast is suffering and basic medical necessities are not being provided,” Mr McArdle said

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07:29 am, Sunday 20 May, 2007

Source: ABC Online

Worksafe has launched an investigation into the partial collapse of a building in Fremantle, south of Perth, yesterday which crushed a worker.

The damaged section of the new building on Adelaide street was demolished last night after the first floor collapsed, crushing a bobcat operator on the ground floor.

He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Worksafe commissioner Nina Lyhne says the collapse of the building raises questions about the ’tilt-up’ construction method which was being used, where large panels are lifted into place as whole units.

She says ’tilt-up’ structures are relatively unstable until they are completed and Worksafe will investigate whether safety guidelines and the industry’s code of practice were followed.

“Tilt-up construction is high risk work and we’re very concerned that this has happened, in fact it’s very lucky that nobody was killed,” she said.

“There are regulations in place so our inspectors will be looking to see what the cause was and whether we need to do anything to prevent this sort of thing happening again.”

Secretary of the Construction Union Kevin Reynolds says the ’tilt-up’ method of construction is a major problem and needs to be looked at.

He has criticised Worksafe, saying the agency needs to focus on preventing accidents rather than just investigating them after they occur.

“We’ve always been taught that the best form of cure is prevention, [Worksafe needs to] get out and try and prevent these sort of things,” hew said.

“Now you can only keep calling on the Government to do something about Worksafe and make them more active.”

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12:00 am, Sunday 20 May, 2007

Source: AAP

FATIGUE has been blamed for a crash involving two Queensland ambulances.

The vehicles were involved in a minor nose-to-tail accident attending the same job at Kilcoy, northwest of Brisbane, about 2am on Wednesday – with no injuries to paramedics or patients.

But sources said the accident investigation report revealed both ambulance crews were exhausted from over-working and this had contributed to the crash.

“The paramedics had been without sleep for some 20 hours,” a Queensland Ambulance Service insider told The Sunday Mail.

An exclusive Sunday Mail report this month revealed how the service was in crisis, with paramedics pleading for more staff and vehicles before it was too late.

Ambulance officers expressed their anger at the new roster system, which had resulted in them working more shifts every week. Many said they were physically and mentally spent.

The accident happened only hours after the ambulance employees union threatened the State Government with industrial action if it did not address rostering and recruitment.

“Fatigue was a huge part of the incident . . . the crews were extremely tired . . . although I am sure the QAS will say it is something else,” the insider said.

The Emergency Medical Service Protection Association, a group representing paramedics unhappy with their union, said there must be further investigation into the crash.

“This raises serious concerns. It is a workplace health and safety issue which needs to be looked into,” association president Prebs Sathiaseelan said.

Mr Sathiaseelan said management used “emotional blackmail” on employees about to go off duty, asking them to respond to an emergency case.

State Opposition emergency services spokesman Ted Malone said the incident highlighted how the Government was prepared to risk the lives of ambulance officers and the public.

“Peter Beattie has had his hands in our pockets grabbing his ambulance tax, which he promised would give us the world’s best service,” Mr Malone said.

“All he’s done is waste our money and run the service down to the point where ambos are forced to work 20 hours without sleep. How dangerous is that?

“Bullying, harassing, running staff into the ground to the point where they’re exhausted.”

•  A GOLD Coast paramedic is under investigation by the Ethical Standards Unit after allegedly taking an ambulance out on unauthorised business last Sunday. It was extensively damaged in a crash.

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04:49 pm, Saturday 19 May, 2007

Source: AAP

A CONSTRUCTION worker is lucky to be alive after the first floor of a building collapsed, burying him under tonnes of concrete rubble in Fremantle.

Trapped inside the safety cage of a forklift, Trent Hardy used his mobile phone to call his mates for help at 10.15am.

The 30-year-old leading-hand labourer was rescued and treated by paramedics before being taken to Fremantle Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

Eight workers were at the Stockland Fremantle Shopping Centre site when the first floor of the Adelaide St building gave way.

Four men had been on the ground floor and four working on the roof. Remarkably, no one else was injured.

WorkSafe has launched an investigation into the collapse, which is believed to have been caused by a structural fault.

Witnesses yesterday spoke of hearing a “huge rumble” which sounded like an aeroplane landing, before a mass of smoke and dust clouded the site.

Georgi Putland was upstairs in a building across the road when the incident happened.

“We were just sitting there and we heard this huge big rumble and we thought: `Oh my God’,” Ms Putland told The Sunday Times.

“It sounded like a plane coming down. It was really, really shocking.

“Then we saw this guy come out. He was limping and holding his leg and there was blood and everything.”

Vince Petrucci, who was working nearby, said he heard what sounded like a minor bomb explosion.

“I went to have a look and spoke to some of the workers,” he said. “It was very scary and the way it collapsed looked like the cement had buckled.”

FESA Fremantle station officer Rohan Lewis said the cab of the forklift had almost certainly saved the man from further injury.

“It could have been much worse,” Mr Lewis said.

“We are talking tens and possibly hundreds of tonnes of concrete. It’s easy to work out that when concrete falls on your head it’s going to hurt a lot.

“The fact he was in a cage in a forklift is one of the things that has saved him.”
CFMEU WA secretary Kevin Reynolds said Mr Hardy was the “luckiest boy in Perth”.

“This guy probably should buy himself a ticket in the $30 million lotto,” Mr Reynolds said.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said two investigators and an engineer examined the site yesterday.

“It is very lucky no one died,” Ms Lyhne said. “We will thoroughly investigate the collapse.”
Ms Lyhne said WorkSafe had concerns about “tilt-up constructions”.

“There are government regulations about this type of building which were made a few years ago,” she said. “We will be making sure that these regulations were adhered to.”

City of Fremantle Mayor Peter Tagliaferri said the council had sent an independent engineer to inspect the site.

“They will assess whether the rest of the building needs to come down,” he said. “It was supposed to be completed by 2007 … it is a real tragedy.”

The Stockland property is being developed by a third party, Seaport Pty, Limited and was due for completion mid-year.

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04:40 pm, Thursday 17 May, 2007

Source: Worksafe Victoria

A Geelong woman was convicted and fined $6,000 today and faces the possibility of six months in jail, for fraudulently obtaining more than $54,400 in workplace injury compensation payments and for providing false information.

The Geelong Magistrates Court heard that Marlene Rimmrodt was working as a credit manager with a Tullamarine freight company in 2003 when she suffered an injury to her left shoulder after slipping while at work.

Ms Rimmrodt’s claim for workers compensation was accepted and she formally declared that she was not engaging in any form of employment while receiving weekly workplace injury compensation payments.

However, evidence revealed that while in receipt of compensation payments during 2004 and 2005, Ms Rimmrodt was employed in two jobs.

Ms Rimmrodt pleaded guilty to three counts of fraudulently obtaining payments and two counts of providing false information under the Accident Compensation Act 1985.

Marlene Rimmrodt was convicted and fined $6,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2,000 to WorkSafe. She was also sentenced to six month’s jail, to commence if she commits any further unlawful offences in the next two years.

WorkSafe executive director, Len Boehm, said one of the important reasons the WorkSafe scheme existed was to protect workers that suffered a workplace injury.

“This sort of fraudulent behaviour attempts to take advantage of a system that is set up to provide support for people who are unable to work due to a workplace injury,” said Mr Boehm.

“We will identify and prosecute those who deceive the system, in order to protect honest workers, employers, and service providers.

“This case is another reminder of the consequences to be suffered as a result of dishonesty.”

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04:29 pm, Thursday 17 May, 2007

Source AAP

A worker lost his arm below the elbow on Thursday when it was caught in a conveyor belt at a Laverton rock and concrete crushing plant.

A 44-year-old man from Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s north was taken to the Alfred Hospital where he underwent surgery.

Worksafe Victoria said it was believed he had been adjusting a conveyor belt at the Alex Fraser plant on Thursday morning.

WorkSafe executive director John Merritt said the incident should send a warning to all companies and workers.

“Incidents like this should trigger an instant review of safety in all workplaces,” Mr Merritt said.

“It’s a matter for workers and employers to identify known and potential hazards and to act to ensure they don’t create a safety incident.”

He said even if there have not been problems in the past, ensuring safe practices and procedures are in place and being used and that equipment is properly guarded can prevent lives being shattered.

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12:34 pm, Wednesday 16 May, 2007

Article AAP

Forget the dangerous stunts, just being on a film set is a risky business.

A report from Queensland’s Griffith University has revealed more than half of the state’s film and television workers are working in unsafe conditions.

The interim report, released to the industry on Wednesday, highlights low occupational health and safety (OHS) standards and poor risk assessment.

Tight budgets, time constraints and rushed deadlines have also been blamed for the high level of injury and low workforce morale.

“Less than 40 per cent of industry workers indicated they were working in an OHS compliant area,” Griffith Film School senior lecturer Nicholas Oughton said.

“The majority of film, television and video businesses employ fewer than five people and operate in highly competitive, volatile and fluctuating environments (and) this means OHS can suffer at the expense of profit or survival.”

In a survey of 209 industry workers, 46 per cent of respondents said they suffered lower back pain.

The survey also showed that art department workers and make-up artists experienced an unusually high level of hay fever and allergies, which Mr Oughton said could be a result of chemical exposure.

Film editors, sound recordists, producers and directors also reported regularly suffering headaches.

The final report will be released in July, and will provide recommendations for improving OHS compliance within the industry.

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12:00 am, Wednesday 16 May, 2007

Source: Courier Mail

A MAN spent more than an hour with his leg pinned in an industrial harvester after an accident at a farm in Beerwah.

The 22-year-old man was working at Oakland Farm on Mawsons Road, harvesting ginger just before 7.30am when some of the ginger became lodged in the machine.

It’s believed the man attempted to kick the ginger free with his right leg while the harvester was still in operation.

The roller which pushes the ginger along has continued to turn, pulling his limb into the machine, while metal rods which keep the ginger in place have pinned his leg, piercing the skin and making it impossible for him to pull it free.

His colleagues quickly realised he was in trouble and called for help.

Caloundra firefighters worked with Maroochydore paramedics for over an hour to free the trapped man in a process Caloundra station officer Ross Ginns described as “delicate”.

“The leg was caught between his knee and his ankle and we could tell it was not going to come out easily,” he said.

“We had to look at different ways of releasing him to try and minimise the pain to him.

“The metal rods had dug down to the bone and his leg was crushed and the danger there is that toxins can start building up in a crush injury so you have to try and release it slowly.

“We tried lifting several different ways, but they were causing him too much pain.

“In the end we had to use the oxy-gear to cut the rods free.”

Paramedic Rod Sharpe, who quickly issued the man with pain medication, said he had not seen many injuries like it.

“With this sort of injury, there can be worries about losing the limb because the blood can’t get to it,” he said.

“When we got there the leg was looking quite ischemic (pale) but as soon as we freed him, the colour started returning which is a good sign.”

Both firefighters and paramedics praised the farm’s staff for their quick and calm reactions, but they were too overwrought to talk about their experience.

But one anonymous farm worker said they didn’t do “anything that no one else would do in the same position”.

“If your mate was hurt, or in trouble, of course you would hook in and help him,” he said.

The Energex community rescue helicopter airlifted the man to the Royal Brisbane Hospital where he was operated on late yesterday afternoon.

Workplace health and safety officers are investigating.

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