Death inquest findings
Coroner makes two particular recommendations on trucky death
A CORONER who examined the circumstances leading up to and subsequent to the death of Proston truck driver Stephen Brown has made recommendations to enhance safety inspections of heavy vehicles.
Mr Brown, 54, was driving a Goldmix Stock Feeds truck on the Murgon-Gayndah Road on August 27, 2014, when his truck suddenly pulled to the right across the road and down an embankment and into a tree.
Deputy State Coroner John Lock found the truck had sustained a “catastrophic mechanical failure when the front right suspension collapsed causing the vehicle to veer sharply to the right”.
“The failure of the suspension rendered the truck uncontrollable,” he found.
“The suspension failed because two leaf springs had fractured over time due to the stress of driving on rough country roads.”
Mr Brown suffered serious injuries including an almost complete amputation of his right leg below the knee.
However, he remained conscious before being taken to Nambour Hospital and told those first on seen of hearing a loud bang before the truck went out of control.
He later died on the operating table after he had an episode of haemodynamic instability and could not be revived.
An autopsy showed he had suffered a massive pulmonary embolism due to the presence of pre-existing deep vein thrombosis.
The inquest heard that the company’s trucks were regularly mechanically checked.
However, Coroner Lock recommended the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Department of Transport and Main Roads consider if there should be enhanced education and guidelines to ensure persons performing heavy vehicle inspections are aware of the risks involved in not having clean components when they perform a visual check.
He also recommended that in the process of revising the current association between the Queensland Police Service and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland that this included a process for the notification of heavy vehicle incidents to the NHVR.