Prosecution Details

[1] Being an employer of persons at its workplace failed to forthwith notify the WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner in the prescribed form, giving such particulars as are prescribed, of an accident occurring at that workplace, which resulted in injury to its employee, on 20 June 1996, of a kind prescribed in regulation 201(1)(e) of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1988.

[2] Being the owner of plant, namely an air-seeder attached by a connecting shaft to the power take-off of a Ford FW35 tractor, which plant was not so positioned or constructed that it was safe, as it would be if securely guarded, failed to ensure that every dangerous part of the plant was securely guarded.

The defendant's employee was conducting seeding operations using a tractor-air seeder. The employee was experiencing problems with the hydraulics of the machines and attempted to rectify the problem at the rear of the tractor.

The tractor was still running and the power take-off (PTO) shaft to the air seeder had not been disengaged. At that time another employee arrived and observed his co-worker leaning over the revolving PTO shaft and checking the hydraulic lines. At that time the employee's clothing became caught in the revolving PTO shaft and his entangled clothing drew him into the PTO shaft. The observing employee proceeded to the tractor cab and turned it off.

The employee was hospitalised for one week with abrasions to both arms and severe chest pain. This injury was not reported to the WorkSafe Western Australia Commissioner.

A plea of guilty was entered for section 19(3)(b). A not guilty plea was entered for regulation 402(1).