A mining business in Australia was ordered to compensate a man $300,000 after his foot was stuck in a conveyor belt at work and seriously injured him.
On June 8, 2019, the worker was putting in the powered scraper conveyor at the Appin underground mine, which is southwest of Sydney and is owned by Endeavour Coal, a division of South32, which was formed by BHP.
The labour-hire worker’s right foot was crushed, its toes were removed, and it sustained a significant cut on its underside before he was able to pull himself free, according to court records obtained by The Illawarra Mercury.
The employee testified before the court that the injuries had caused him to lose his job and left him permanently unable to work.
Following an investigation by the NSW Resources Regulator, Endeavour Coal entered a guilty plea to violating the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 on July 27 in the NSW District Court.
The mining company was found guilty of failing to protect the health and safety of its employees, and as a result, the punishment of $300,000 was lowered by 25% due to the early guilty plea and ordered to cover the attorneys’ court costs.
The ruling, according to Peter Day, executive director of the Resources Regulator, shows how important it is for mining businesses to protect their employees’ safety.
He said that Endeavour Coal did not follow the written procedures intended to stop such a catastrophe, and that new team members were not appropriately trained when they arrived on site.