10:14 pm, Wednesday 7 December, 2011
A postal company has been fined after a contractor lost his right leg when he was run over by a forklift at work at the Toowoomba Mail Centre in July 2008.
The victim was three days shy of his 73rd birthday when the accident happened. Surgeons weren’t able to save his lower right leg leading to its amputation. He spent more than a month at the hospital.
The Federal Court heard that the postal company admitted to breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act when they failed to properly control pedestrian traffic in the loading dock. They also failed to provide sufficient training to contractors. NEWS.com.au reports that the company was fined $160,000 and was ordered to pay $80,000 in legal costs.
Justice John Logan said that he acknowledge that the postal company has made efforts to improve its safety strategies, but also said that any penalty should reflect the need for deterrence.
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