Darwin construction company charged with industrial manslaughter
The following article is a news item provided for the benefit of the Workplace Health and Safety profession. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.
Date:
Wednesday, 16 March, 2022 - 12:30
Category:
Incidents & prosecutions
Location:
Northern Territory
NT WorkSafe has commenced a prosecution against Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd for industrial manslaughter in relation to a death of a worker at Maningrida on 20 March 2020.
It is alleged the worker sustained fatal injuries while engaged at work for the company, and the company faces one charge of industrial manslaughter which has a maximum penalty of more than $10.3 million if found guilty.
Two alternative charges have also been laid: a category 1 offence for reckless conduct, with a maximum penalty of $3 million; and a category 2 offence for failing to comply with a health and safety duty with a maximum penalty of $1.5 million.
In addition to the above charges, Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd faces another charge for a category 2 offence for an alleged incident involving the deceased worker which occurred eight days earlier on 12 March 2020.
NT WorkSafe has also commenced a prosecution against the company’s sole director Theofilos Kalidonis over the fatality. Mr Kalidonis has been charged with a category 1 offence for reckless conduct with a maximum penalty of $600,000 or five years in prison or both; and an alternative category 2 offence for failing to comply with a health and safety duty with a maximum penalty of $300,000.
Kalidonis has also been charged in relation to the incident that occurred on 12 March 2020 and faces an additional category 2 offence for failing to comply with a health and safety duty that has a maximum penalty of $300,000.
The charges related to an incident that occurred in 2020, in which a 50-year-old worker in Maningrida was fatally injured when a chain used in a towing operation failed.
The worker was operating an excavator to tow another excavator, which had broken down. The chain was attached to the chassis of the broken-down excavator and to the quick-clamp of the other excavator.
The excavator being towed weighed approximately 36 tonnes and the chain, when it broke, recoiled, striking the worker who was sitting in the excavator cabin.
This is the first time a prosecution for industrial manslaughter has been brought since the introduction of the offence in the Northern Territory.