Industrial Manslaughter – On 25 March 2022, a Gympie business owner became the first person prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned under Queensland’s industrial manslaughter laws.
In my blog of 11 June 2020 I reported on the Courts first decision under the Queensland industrial manslaughter laws. That decision whilst resulting in a conviction and fine, did not result in imprisonment.
At a hearing in the Gympie District Court in March this year Jeffrey Owen was sentenced to five years jail over a workplace incident in which his friend was crushed to death by a falling generator being moved from the back of a truck.
The prosecution, conviction and jail sentence are the first of an individual for an offence under Queensland’s industrial manslaughter laws (Section 34C of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011).
The offence occurred at Owen’s Electric Motor Rewinds in Gympie. The business, operated by Mr Owen, involved the repair and maintenance of electrical items, including generators.
A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigation revealed that on 3 July 2019 a generator was delivered on a flatbed truck and a friend of Owen helped him unload the generator. Owen used a forklift to remove the generator from the back of the truck, but it fell from the tynes and landed on his friend.
The court heard Owen’s conduct caused the death of his friend in that he negligently operated the forklift; he was not licensed to operate a forklift and his business had no documented health and safety procedures, in particular, procedures for using the forklift to unload heavy equipment. The forklift had a lifting capacity that was inadequate for its use in unloading the generator. The court also heard that safe, alternative methods of unloading the generator were available at low cost.
Judge Glen Cash QC sentenced Owen to five years imprisonment suspended after 18 months for an operational period of five years. He noted that the sentence needed to reflect considerations of punishment, general and personal deterrence and denunciation, as well as Owen’s personal circumstances and remorse.
Judge Cash took into account Owen had had no prior convictions, was remorseful and had subsequently put in place all necessary procedures. The fact that his friend had put himself in harm’s way, did not relieve Owen of his responsibly.
Ref: The industrial manslaughter offence under Queensland legislation
