Redland Operations Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to WorkSafe charges of failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Prosecutor Hamish Myers told the court the worker was injured while trying to recover a bogged tractor at an apple orchard at 85 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Shepparton North, on February 29, 2024.
Using the workplace recovery process in place, another employee attached a chain from one tractor to the other to get it unstuck.
However, the chain snapped, recoiled and smashed the windscreen, with glass getting the driver in the face and seriously injuring him.
In a victim impact statement Mr Myers read to the court, the victim said he’d suffered physical and psychological injuries, the overall quality of his life had been impacted and there had been a significant strain on his family.
He spent time in The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne after suffering injuries including blunt force trauma to his eye, corneal lacerations, head trauma and dental injuries.
He is unable to work and is receiving payments from WorkCover.
He also now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and is on multiple medications.
A WorkSafe investigation into the incident found that the chain was unsuitable to be used due to its towing capacity, and there was limited instructional training given to drivers regarding recovery of tractors.
Mr Myers said alternate methods, including a strap rather than a chain, could have been used to reduce the risk.
He said two improvement notices were issued and promptly complied with.
Redland’s defence counsel said his client had made a mistake, but had since spent $82,000 on its farms across the region to replace chains with straps, and given $1000 to the victim and his wife for expenses.
Redland had been operating since September 2023, and the court heard they “inherited the system” from the previous owner, including the chains that cause the accident.
He said they never intended to cause injury or take shortcuts, and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Magistrate Olivia Trumble fined Redland $20,000 and no conviction was recorded.
They were also ordered to pay costs to WorkSafe of $4365.
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