A waste disposal company has been hit with $300,000 in fines after a worker was crushed to death by a garbage truck.
The garbage truck driver was collecting bins in April 2019 when he pulled up at a property at Leongatha South in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges and went to open a front gate.
He had engaged the truck's parking brake, but it rolled forward and crushed him against the gate.
VicRoads later found the truck was unroadworthy - the parking brake was faulty, it had several other major defects and it was overdue for all its services.
The waste disposal company, Country Cart Pty Ltd, was convicted in the Latrobe Valley County Court on Monday after pleading guilty to two charges: failing to provide or maintain safe machinery and failing to provide or maintain safe systems of work.
It was fined $250,000 for the first charge and another $50,000 for the second.
The court found the company failed to keep the parking brake maintained so it would stop the truck from moving.
The garbage truck driver's death highlighted the cost of failing to follow basic workplace safety procedures, WorkSafe acting executive health and safety director Kelly Harris said.
"A thorough maintenance program and rigorous inspection of heavy vehicles is absolutely critical to protecting the health and safety of not only your workers but other road users and members of the public," she said.
Country Cart has been contacted for comment.
