A building company has admitted endangering the health and safety of an employee after a man was crushed by a load of lumber, leaving him with spinal, rib and eye socket fractures.
"I will never be the person I once was," the worker said.
Agnew Building Supplies Pty Ltd, based in Queanbeyan, on Friday faced the ACT Industrial Court charged with failure to comply with health and safety duties causing the risk of death or serious injury.
The company previously pleaded guilty to the charge in a "clear acceptance of responsibility".
The incident took place on the morning of April 16, 2021, when an experienced employee delivered 878kg worth of laminated veneer lumber to a worksite in Torrens using a crane-mounted truck.
The 55-year-old delivered the 29 planks to the site driving a white Isuzu FTR single cab flatbed truck, loaded with two cranes designed to be operated from controls located on the opposite side of the cab.
"Danger. Do not operate crane boom over the operator or other personnel," large labels on the cranes stated.
However, for what could have been a number of weeks, the driver side operating controls were "busted" and had to be operated from only one side, a problem known to company directors.
While unloading the truck, the victim lifted the load above himself and due to the way the lumber was slung, it became unstable.
The load dislodged from the crane's hook through its safety latch, striking the man and causing him to fall to the ground.
The lumber then landed on top of his head and chest, rendering him unconscious for a short period of time.
After being transported to Canberra Hospital, the worker was diagnosed with three broken ribs, multiple spinal and eye socket fractures and bleeding between the brain and skull.
The court heard the man was the brother-in-law of the two company directors and the incident had driven a "wedge through the family".
In a victim impact statement tendered to the court, the man described the emotional, psychological, physical and financial suffering the incident had caused him.
"I struggle to enjoy life like I used to and struggle mentally with daily life choices," he said.
The victim said he struggled with numerous "overwhelming symptoms" like insomnia, shame, chronic pain and several physical difficulties, memory loss and anger outbursts.
"I can no longer run a farm without relying on and using the assistance of other people," he said.
Agreed facts state Agnew Building Supplies did not have any processes or procedures in place to check the condition of the crane hook either prior to or after its use.
The building company also did not provide adequate training or instruction to its drivers about rigging, slinging or using cranes.
The victim told investigators someone had spent three hours showing him how to operate cranes when he first began using them.
A WorkSafe mechanical engineer inspected the crane in question following the incident and reported it as "defective" and "unserviceable".
"It should not have been used," the WorkSafe report stated.
"The driver side crane controls were inoperative and so the crane operator was using the passenger side crane controls which placed him in the direct path of an unstable load."
The crane had not undergone maintenance, inspection or servicing by a qualified person since being installed in 2017.
The inspection also revealed the crane had no service records, its hydraulic hoses had advanced physical damage, its stabiliser leg was poorly maintained and its hook safety latch was worn and defective.
Had that safety latch been in good condition, it would have been better placed to prevent the lumber load from slipping off the crane hook.
Further, WorkSafe declared three of the four slings used for the load as "condemned" due to damage and age.
An inspector noted the angle between each sling should be at a 60 degree angle "in a perfect lifting scenario", and no more than 120 degrees.
"However, the slings would have been greater than 150 degrees when the load was lifted by [the victim]," he said.
Prosecutor Sofia Janackovic asked magistrate James Lawton to impose a "substantial fine".
"To send a message to the business community that they have to comply with their work health and safety obligations," she said.
Ms Janackovic also acknowledged the company's remorse and safety measures imposed since the incident but said "that is the norm rather than the exception".
Defence lawyer Tim Sharman told the court his client's significant expenditure on safety reflected an appreciation for its error.
"If these measures were in place [before the incident], we wouldn't be here," the magistrate said.
The company is set to return to court for a sentencing decision on June 6.
