By Goya Dmytryshchak
A Sunshine North towing and transportation company has been fined $275,000 in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after the death of an employee at Williamstown two years ago.
JMAL Group employee Greg McRae was given the job of loading and transporting a boom lift crane from Williamstown to Melbourne Airport on August 5, 2015.
About 4.55am, Mr McRae collected the crane from a company called IN2 Access Services. The usual procedure was to load the crane in the public road.
The court heard it was dark and raining as Mr McRae loaded the crane onto a trailer in Darbyshire Street.
A delivery van driver was travelling about 40-50km/h when he saw the cage of the crane, without lights, in the centre of the road.
The driver tried to stop but the side of his van hit the cage with Mr McRae inside. Mr McRae was critically injured and died in hospital a number of days later.
WorkSafe initiated the legal action against JMAL Group.
The court heard the company had no documented traffic management plan in place for loading the crane, exposing employees and members of the public to the risk of death or serious injury as a result of collision.
Employees were not inducted in a documented traffic management plan, the court heard.
JMAL Group pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe system of work and failing to ensure members of the public weren’t exposed to risks to their health and safety.
It was ordered to pay $275,000 plus $12,000 in costs.
