Cherry farm death ruling

TASMANIAN cherry exporter Reid Fruits failed to comply with its health and safety duty in the case of a worker who was killed by a trailer in 2015, a magistrate has found.

The Hobart Magistrates Court heard worker Ret be Chide Negga, 50, was crushed by a trailer being used in cherry harvesting work about 11.30am on January 9, 2015, at Redlands farm at Plenty in the Derwent Valley.

In a decision handed down yesterday, Magistrate Reg Marron said Mr Negga ran at the moving trailer and attempted to jump onto a side step.

Mr Marron said Mr Negga was crushed by the trailer and later died of his injuries in hospital.

Mr Marron said the side steps were added to the trailer in 2013 and there was a gap of about 190mm between the step and the wheel when the trailer was not lowered.

During the hearing, held over three days between June 20 and October 22 last year, Reid Fruits’ managing director Tim Reid told the court the sidesteps were added to the trailer to prevent workers from standing in front of the wheel when they were loading cherries into bins on the trailer.

Mr Marron said it was dangerous for workers to step on and off the sidestep when the trailer was moving, and this behaviour “ought to have been contemplated when the sidesteps were fitted”.

He said a guard over a trailer wheel was “a normal part of most trailers” and “this purpose-built trailer simply required a bigger guard that connected to the step and allowed for a change in height”.

Mr Marron also found the induction process for Reid Fruits workers was “less than adequate”.

He said while the company was experienced in dealing with the varied nature of its workforce — many of whom were migrants with little or no grasp of the English language — the induction process, especially in relation to Mr Negga, was “undermined as a result of the inconsistently applied direction relating to riding on trailers and the high likelihood of a misunderstanding by a worker with limited English understanding and comprehension as to what was and wasn’t allowed”.

“A combination of the failure to cover or alter the gap between the step and the wheel of the trailer and a less than adequate induction process exposed Mr Negga to the risk of death or serious injury,” Mr Marron said.

The case was adjourned until November for sentencing submissions.