MITOL has been fined and ordered to pay compensation to the sons of a maintenance worker who was fatally crushed when he tried to enter a moving service lift.
According to SafeWork SA, Graham Mehaffey was killed in April 2006 at the St. Paul’s Function Centre. It decided to prosecute Mitol after finding the lift had been modified and left in an unsafe condition.
The car doors had been removed, the safety apron covering the gap between the lift and the landing door was missing, the safety circuits preventing operation with the doors open had been bypassed, and the lift had not been professionally serviced or inspected for years.
Mitol received its penalty after pleading guilty to Section 19(1) of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986, in failing to ensure an employee was safe, failing to provide plant in a safe condition, and failing to provide a safe system of work and adequate instruction.
Mehaffey left behind a widow, two sons and a daughter. While his widow and daughter have already been financially compensated, Mitol was ordered to pay the two sons $10,000 each in compensation.
The magistrate then fined the company $56,000, after discounting the penalty by 20% for a guilty plea, contrition and cooperation. Mitol closed in May 2008, and the lift has not been used since the accident.