A Victorian mechanical firm has been convicted and fined over a crash that killed three people in the state's north-east almost eight years ago.
Wodonga-based company Heavy Mechanics Pty Ltd was ordered to pay $210,000 for failing to service the vehicle involved in a way that ensured the safety of other road users.
In August 2014, a trailer decoupled from a truck and crashed into two oncoming cars on Wodonga-Yackandadah Road near Staghorn Flat.
Peta Cox was in one of the vehicles and Lisa Turner and her four-year-old son, Jack, were in the other.
All three died.
During the sentencing in the County Court of Victoria, Judge George Georgiou said the trailer detached from the truck due to the failure of a key element known as the tow eye coupling.
Servicing failure
Heavy Mechanics had taken over servicing of the vehicle in September 2011 and conducted an inspection on the truck days before the fatal crash.
The service included a "tug test" and a visual inspection of the tow eye coupling, which the prosecution argued was not sufficient in that instance.
The vehicle had travelled about 354,000 kilometres since 2011, when the company took over servicing, without it ever replacing the part.
"It was inevitable, it was argued, that the coupling would fail at some point if not properly maintained," Judge Georgiou said.
"A system of servicing the unit that checked for wear and movement was critical."
"The company was required to be proactive and take all reasonable practice measures to ensure health and safety in the conduct of its undertaking, this included, in my opinion, a detailed inspection of the cause of the wear to the block."
He said further investigation of the part was readily available, inexpensive and suitable in reducing the risk.
The company has since changed its practices and no longer services tow eye couplings.
During sentencing, Judge Georgiou acknowledged the impact on the victims' family and friends.
The father of four-year-old Jack and partner of Lisa Turner, Damien Wallace, had told the court in his victim impact statement he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and had not been able to return to work since the incident.
"He does not think he will ever be okay or the same person he was before the incident," Judge Georgiou recounted.
In her statement, Jack's grandmother said "there is absolutely nothing compared to the grief of the loss of a child and grandchild."
Potential appeal
The maximum penalty at the time of the incident for a body corporate was more than $1.3 million.
Judge Georgiou said he had taken into account the otherwise good reputation of the company and several other factors including the time between the crash and when WorkSafe Victoria's investigation was launched, two years later.
He accepted there was no blatant disregard for safety and that the 'tug test' had been used by other companies to check whether the coupling was safe or unsafe but said the primary sentencing purpose was for general deterrence.
"The sentence to be imposed must send message to other employers that they have an active and ongoing duty to ensure... the health and safety of persons other than employees," he said.
The court heard the matter could be appealed.
