One worker is dead and three others have been seriously injured in separate incidents across NSW in the past week, prompting WorkCover NSW to urge businesses to review their work practices & safety procedures.
Safety In Australia reports the first incident occurred on Thursday evening when a 60 year old male truck driver was run over by his own vehicle at Taralga, north of Goulburn NSW. Initial enquiries indicate the driver was adjusting his brakes on the prime mover after they had become locked. The truck driver had pulled the truck over to the side of the road, over a crest with a slight down gradient when the brakes released, causing the truck to roll forward onto the driver, who unfortunately died at the scene.
The second incident occurred on Friday morning when a male worker suffered spinal & head injuries after falling whilst attempting to fit a tarpaulin to a skip bin in the Sydney suburb of Mortdale. The worker was allegedly standing on the waste material within the skip bin while tarping it in preparation for transport to a recycling centre when he fell approximately 2.5mtrs onto the ground. He was later transferred to hospital.
The third event also happened on Friday morning when 2 workers at Parkes in central NSW suffered serious burns when a light inside the tank they were working in was reported to have short circuited, causing fumes inside the tank to ignite. One worker is reported to have serious burns to his face while the other was reported to have burns to his legs and arms.
General Manager of WorkCover NSW Health & Safety division, John Watson, said it had been a terrible start to the new financial year with regard to work health & safety and urged all employers and workers to make safety their number one priority.“The serious injury or death of a loved one in a workplace can have a devastating effect on family, friends and colleagues”, Mr Watson said.
WorkCover wants all workers to return to their homes safely at the end of the working day, so don’t wait until there is a death or injury at your workplace, act today to make your workplace safe.
WorkCover has a range of work health & safety publications on it’s website for businesses, including publications for all size transport operations, truck roll a ways, working from heights & working in confined spaces.
For more information on the above, go to www.workcover.gov.nsw and don’t forget businesses and workers can call 13 10 50 for more information workplace safety.
Find more safety news at www.safetyinaustralia.com.au
