A worker left paralysed after falling headfirst into a concrete water tank needed a colleague to hold his head above water while he was rescued, a court has been told.
Details of the horrific incident were recounted in the Ballarat Magistrates Court after water tank installation company Watertank Solutions Victoria pleaded guilty to charges of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work.
The business has been handed a $45,000 fine and ordered to pay additional costs.
Workers had been hired to repair, drain and clean an in-ground tank at a Yendon property, west of Melbourne, in April 2022 at the time of the fall.
Some of the work included removing and replacing the tank’s metal roof.
The tank itself was about 2.1m deep, with the outer wall sitting 45cm above the ground and the apex about 3.1m from the base of the tank.
Workers were using metal planks balanced across the tank’s outer wall and roof apex to access and remove the roofing panels.
There was no fall protection in place.
Two workers – one standing on a plank at the roof apex and another on the ground near the edge of the tank – were trying to shake one of the panels free when they fell.
The 43-year-old worker, who was on the ground, fell headfirst into the tank, suffering serious head and neck injuries which rendered him a paraplegic.
The other worker on the roof suffered a shoulder injury.
A third worker on the site leapt into the tank and helped the worker with the injured shoulder to hold the “semiconscious” 43-year-old’s head above water.
A ratchet strap was used to pull him out.
WorkSafe Victoria inspectors later found there was no safe work method statement (SWMS) in place as required for high risk construction work.
An investigation found it was reasonably practicable for Watertank Solutions to reduce or eliminate the risk of a fall with a passive prevention, such as scaffolding or a fixed ladder, to access the roof and a perimeter guardrail or fall arrest harness at edge of the tank.
The company on Friday entered pleas of guilty to two charges of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work.
In addition to the fine, they were ordered to pay $3960 in costs.
WorkSafe executive director health and safety Sam Jenkin said there was no excuse for failing to take the notorious risk of a fall from heights seriously.
“In this case, the employer failed to take even the most basic of precautions for working at heights and, as a result, one man has suffered catastrophic and life-changing injuries,” Mr Jenkin said.
“This is a serious breach of the employer’s duty to take every reasonable step to keep workers safe – particularly when working with well-known hazards such as heights of two metres or more.”