SafeWork NSW v Morris, McMahon & Co Pty Limited [2017] NSWDC 349

SafeWork NSW v Morris, McMahon & Co Pty Limited [2017] NSWDC 349

The offender was convicted because, as a person conducting a business with a health and safety duty, it failed to ensure that the press machine was safe for use, failed to provide adequate supervision and training to the operator, and failed to ensure that safety policies were implemented and understood. These failures exposed an inexperienced worker to an obvious and foreseeable risk, resulting in serious injury, in circumstances where simple preventative steps could have avoided the risk. The level of culpability was assessed as mid-range, warranting a substantial fine, reduced by 25% for an early guilty plea.

Parties
Prosecutor: SafeWork NSW; Defendant: Morris, McMahon & Co Pty Limited
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 December 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal Prosecution / Sentence
Outcome
convicted and fined
Legal Topics
Duty of Persons Undertaking Business, Risk of Death or Serious Injury, Objective Seriousness, General Deterrence, Specific Deterrence, Costs, Training and Supervision, Machine Guarding
Criminal Law Work Health and Safety Law Sentencing Duty of Persons Undertaking Business Risk of Death or Serious Injury Objective Seriousness General Deterrence Specific Deterrence +3 more

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Parties

SafeWork NSW

Prosecutor

Morris, McMahon & Co Pty Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Prosecution / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the offender failed to comply with its health and safety duty under s 19(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and thereby exposed a worker to a risk of death or serious injury, contrary to s 32 of the Act
  2. 2 Appropriate penalty for the breach of work health and safety duty resulting in serious injury

Ratio Decidendi

The offender was convicted because, as a person conducting a business with a health and safety duty, it failed to ensure that the press machine was safe for use, failed to provide adequate supervision and training to the operator, and failed to ensure that safety policies were implemented and understood. These failures exposed an inexperienced worker to an obvious and foreseeable risk, resulting in serious injury, in circumstances where simple preventative steps could have avoided the risk. The level of culpability was assessed as mid-range, warranting a substantial fine, reduced by 25% for an early guilty plea.

Court Disposition

convicted and fined

Orders

  • The offender is convicted.
  • Order the offender to pay a fine of $180,000.