BAIADA Poultry has been convicted and fined $100,000 after a worker was killed on a poultry farm in a forklift truck loading incident.
Mario Azzopardi was killed at around 3.15am on 5 December 2005. He was hit by a 550kg steel cage which fell from a truck after it was loaded by a forklift driven by an unlicensed 16 year old.
Baiada Poultry owned the cages and had sent Azzopardi and other employees to go to the farm. WorkSafe Victoria alleged the company failed to provide a safe workplace and systems of work for Azzopardi, who was a contract truck driver, and deemed employee of Baiada.
The jury was told that the company was aware of the risks involved with the loading an unloading of trucks because of a past incident, and did not adequately identify, limit or control risks associated with loading and unloading trucks in near darkness.
Baiada had also failed to provide a system of separating pedestrians and forklifts, gave no directions to truck drivers to remain in their vehicles during loading and unloading at poultry farms, and did not ensure the forklift involved in this incident was operated by a trained person.
Fifty-seven people have died in Victorian workplace incidents involving forklifts since 1985. Thirty-one were pedestrians who were either struck by the forklift or by falling loads.
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