"Surviving was only the beginning" for a man crushed at work by a heavy and unsecured metal cable rack, his mother has told a court.
In a victim impact statement to the ACT Industrial Court, she thanked the many medical professionals who had helped "put [my son] back together again" after the January 2022 incident.
She said his multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, multiple face fractures, having three teeth knocked out, and several facial lacerations requiring dozens of staples, made him "almost unrecognisable".
Metal Manufactures Pty Ltd and Jack Platt faced court on Friday afternoon after both admitting to failing to comply with health and safety duties causing the risk of death or serious injury.
The company is described in documents tendered to the court as being "engaged in business or undertaking of sourcing and supplying electrical, data and communications, solar, lighting".
It operates about 400 sites around Australia, including TLE Electrical in Belconnen where the 21-year-old victim was working and the incident took place.
Platt's liability for the safety breach comes from being the site manager who was "responsible for site safety" and had received relevant safety training in the months leading up to the incident.
The racking system, which was not secured to the ground in line with the manufacturer's requirement and therefore not meant to be used, fell on the young victim and forced his face onto another piece of metal equipment.
The incident was captured on CCTV camera and the "rather graphic footage" was played in court on Friday.
His mother said the man had since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and was unable to work for a year after the accident.
"As he recovered physically, mentally and emotionally from this event," she said.
She described her son during that time as being withdrawn, quiet and moody.
"His smile literally disappeared," she said.
"Partly because his jaw was wired to his pallet and partly because he was in pain, sad and confused - he had lost his sense of security and safety in this world.
"He is alive and well enough and I am grateful and I focus on this."
Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle said the risks were known to the company, which is why it had policies in place which required racking be anchored.
Mr Guilfoyle said simple and effective steps could have been taken to physically prevent workers from using the racking in question until it was safely secured.
Platt failed to prohibit workers from using the cable racking, "including loading it and using plant to wind cable from it", until it had been appropriately anchored.
Defence lawyer Michael Tooma, representing Metal Manufactures, said the company had operated for 108 years without a conviction or "any serious injury" over that period.
He said the incident was a one off, rather than something more indicative of a systemic issue.
"We extend our expression of contrition and remorse to both [the victim] and [the victim's mother]," Mr Tooma said.
The parent company is expected to received a large fine, and Platt a more moderate one, when the case returns to court for a decision in August.
