Fruit grower fined $750,000 over worker’s fatal fall from trailer
14 Dec 2024•BlueSafe Team•Source: WorkSafe VIC
Cutri Fruit Pty Ltd has been fined $750,000 after a labour hire worker died following a fall from a trailer being towed between farm sites. The company pleaded guilty in the Mildura County Court to one charge of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
The 70-year-old man was on his second shift at the workplace in January 2022 when he and another worker fell from a trailer being towed by a tractor on public roads. He suffered serious head injuries, including a fractured skull, and died in hospital that night. The other worker was uninjured.
The court heard that workers travelled between locations to pick fruit and empty it into bins on two trailers, which the tractor towed in tandem.
Cutri Fruit designed and built the trailers to hold double-stacked fruit bins. Platforms at the front and sides allowed pickers to empty their bags into the bins, but the trailers were not designed to transport passengers.
WorkSafe’s investigation found that four workers were riding on platforms across the two trailers when the incident occurred. A week earlier, the company’s orchard manager and director had warned staff against riding on the trailers in a message.
The company admitted it should have reduced the risk of serious injury from falls by removing permanent platforms from the trailer design and directing workers on how to travel between locations.
It was also reasonably practicable for the company to supply portable steps so workers could reach the bins. A procedure should have required the tractor operator to remove those steps and check that nobody was riding on the trailers before towing them.
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said duty holders must address hazards across all aspects of work, including travel between work locations. "Riding around on any type of machinery or equipment that isn't designed to carry people is incredibly dangerous and should never be part of anyone's work," Mr Jenkin said. "It's frustrating and heartbreaking that a man has lost his life in a workplace incident that could easily have been avoided if safe work practices had been implemented and properly communicated."
AH Vision Pty Ltd, the deceased worker’s employer, is also facing charges over the incident.
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