Employer fined $450,000 after fatal workplace incident in 2022: reports

A stone slab supplier has been ordered to pay a $450,000 fine as a result of a workplace incident in 2022 that led to the death of a 56-year-old employee.

The District Court ordered the fine to Avant Stone, ruling that it did not have appropriate measures in place when Anton Bauer was crushed to death by two stone slabs that weighed more than 600 kilogrammes.

"Avant Stone was not a company which took safety lightly. However, it is apparent that they did not have appropriate systems in place in the warehouse (or indeed in the Sydney factory) to eliminate or minimise the risk of stone slabs tipping," the court's ruling read as quoted by news.com.au.

"Avant Stone should have known of the risk of slabs falling."

Fatal workplace incident

According to news.com.au, Bauer was found lying partially crushed under two stone slabs by a colleague who was returning from a bathroom break in August 2022.

Ambulance and emergency services attended, but the employee was declared dead at the scene of the incident.

The workplace incident came despite Avant Stone directors regularly carrying out safety inspections and discussions with employees about safety issues.

The court heard that Avant Stone did not have a document system in place for lifting and moving stone slabs at the time of the incident, news.com.au reported. It also did not have a supervision or spotting system in place to ensure safe systems of work were followed.

Avant Stone pleaded guilty to failing its work health and safety duty, reducing its fine from $600,000 to $450,000.

A lawyer for Avant Stone has also revealed that the company has since invested $450,000 to improve the equipment and procedures, including the installation of overhead cranes in the Sydney factory.