The inquest into the death of Adelaide man Peter Howard is expected to be adjourned, after lawyers raised concerns about the inquest's potential impact on compensation already paid to his wife.
WARNING: This article discusses issues which may distress some readers.
Peter Howard died in a car fire outside the Orora fibre packaging plant in Athol Park, in Adelaide's north-west, in August 2018.
He purchased fuel the morning of his death, and his car exploded in the street a short time later.
In opening submissions yesterday, the Coroners' Court heard Mr Howard kept diaries for close to two decades, detailing incidents of workplace bullying at the company.
Those incidents included being "screamed at" by co-workers, being called names, spoken to in a sarcastic manner, having machinery interfered with and being repeatedly poked in the ribs.
Mr Howard's family members said they believed his unexpected death had been a suicide, but the inquest yesterday heard the court would not be proceeding under that "assumption".
At the beginning of Tuesday's proceedings, counsel assisting the Coroner, Peter Longson, said one potential finding would be that Mr Howard did not intend for his car to explode "at that location, at that time".
"That could only have a negative effect on Mrs Howard at the family… and it would be in my mind going backwards from the position that they currently have, that is, that there's an acceptance that he sustained a workplace injury, and the company accepted there were incidents in the workplace," Mr Longson said.
Mr Howard's wife has already received a compensation payment under the Return to Work Act.
"I won't be suggesting that [Orora] is the perfect company … but as I see the evidence, in all likelihood, I won't be urging Your Honour to find they performed poorly or that their policies and procedures weren't enacted," Mr Longson said.
"Mrs Howard has achieved a situation, as it currently is, that there is a recognition [her husband] was injured in the workplace, and that contributed to his death.
"From Mrs Howard's perspective … I cannot see the continuation of this inquest being of any benefit to the family, and there is a real possibility that Your Honour may make a finding that takes back from the position that they're currently in."
Wife's compensation under jeopardy
The inquest has previously heard the family has not been able to secure senior legal representation.
They have been represented by lawyer Andrea Madeley, whose own son died in a workplace accident.
Ms Madeley told the court she had received "polar opposite" legal advice from senior lawyers on the question of whether a coronial finding could impact Mrs Howard's compensation.
"We have also conferred with Mrs Howard this afternoon [and] she's understandably quite devastated," Ms Madeley told the inquest.
"We do not wish to put Mrs Howard's financial future in jeopardy, however we would seek an adjournment in order for us to get a written opinion from legal counsel — someone who has the relevant experience within the Return to Work jurisdiction.
"She stills feels passionately about Peter's employment and what he endured … but she wants an opinion … on whether her payments would be put in jeopardy … should Your Honour find there was no suicide."
Deputy Coroner Ian White said the developments had "taken him by surprise" but said he wanted to ensure "procedural fairness" for the family, and allowed the adjournment.
The inquest is expected to hear evidence from two more witnesses on Wednesday, before adjourning for a yet to be determined period of time.
Bullying reported to HR
Before adjourning on Tuesday, the inquest heard evidence from Orora's former HR manager Genevieve Evans.
She told the inquest she had received several reports of bullying or inappropriate workplace behaviour from Mr Howard during her time in the role between 2015 and 2018.
"He did approach me from time to time [and] I would also make sure that I would approach him if he had spoken to me about something he had been concerned about," Ms Evans said.
"[Mr Howard] said he would … by his own admission … overreact to things a colleague would say or do.
"He acknowledged that his reaction was that he would become upset or angry and it didn't warrant that sort of response.
"He would often revisit historical things … and he would raise a couple of things that had happened in the past, and he said that he would note these down in his notebook."
Ms Evans outlined the company's policies and procedures around workplace bullying, including reporting lines, warning levels, and compulsory "respect in the workplace" training sessions.
She told the inquest workers engaged with the training to differing degrees, and agreed most employees at the plant were men who had worked in the same position for "a long time".
Ms Evans told the inquest that Mr Howard had raised concerns about the way the water bottle incident had been handled.
That incident occurred before Ms Evans commenced her role as HR manager at the company.
