A Victorian road maintenance company and its director have been fined over an incident in 2017 which killed a truck driver in West Gippsland.
Valley Sweep Pty Ltd and company director, Anton Zakic, both pleaded guilty in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court for failing to provide and maintain safe plant under the OHS Act.
In April of 2017, Valley Sweep entered into a labour-hire agreement to provide a company with a water truck and driver. The driver was killed less than one month later when the truck rolled on a steep and curving section of road.
The subsequent investigation by WorkSafe found that the truck’s brakes, which had been incorrectly adjusted, were the primary cause of the crash. The truck had not been serviced or inspected by an external mechanic since December 2015. Mr Zakic and a fellow employee had performed maintenance works on the vehicle, and others owned by the company, despite neither being qualified mechanics.
It was also heard in court that the driver, who was only 21 at the time, had not received any training for the unique challenges that driving a water truck poses. The worker had also not received any supervised training in difficult or challenging conditions.
Executive Director of Health and Safety for WorkSafe, Julie Nielsen, said the company’s behaviour was inexcusable.
“This company’s director made a reckless decision to perform service and maintenance work on the water truck himself, even though he knew he wasn’t qualified to do so,” Ms Nielsen said.
“This failure to take reasonable care left a dangerous vehicle on the road and ultimately cost a young worker his life.”
Valley Sweep was fined $388,650, and Mr Zakic was fined $77,730, which are the maximum penalties available to events that occurred at the time.
Victoria has introduced industrial manslaughter legislation, but WorkSafe has stated it will not be applied retrospectively for injuries or incidents that occurred prior to 1 July 2020.