12:22 pm, Tuesday 3 April, 2012

An earthmoving company was fined $105,000 after a worker lost his arm when he got caught up in a rock-crushing machine.

The victim was with the company for only three months when his hand was torn off in a workplace accident in August 2009.

Ninemsn reports that the victim was working alone at the Jaegers Pit mine in South Australia’s southeast at the time of the accident and was forced to walk 500 metres to ask help from a passing motorist.

Magistrate Michael Ardie of the South Australian Industrial Court on Monday said that the company pleaded guilty to violating workplace safety laws. He also said that the worker’s hand was pulled in further when it got caught up in the machine.

“He was aware that his head was getting closer and he could feel his arm being crushed,” said Magistrate Ardie.

“He pulled back and his shirt was ripped off his body and he could see his arm flapping and bone and gristle near his shoulder.

“Once free of the belt and roller he used his mobile phone to ring 000.

“Whilst he was on the phone he was staggering towards the gate which led to the site.”

The company has taken full responsibility of the incident and entered a guilty plea. They also took steps to ensure that the same incident won’t happen again, but the magistrate said that the company’s failure to ensure workplace safety posed serious risks including injury and death.

“The employee avoided death with the amputation of his arm which freed him from entrapment.

“He would most likely have been crushed to such an extent that death would have followed.”

 

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