Gympie man the first convicted under industrial manslaughter laws
A Gympie man has become the first person to be prosecuted and convicted under Queensland’s industrial manslaughter laws.
Photo: ABC
Jeffrey Owen was sentenced to five years’ jail, suspended after 8 months, following a workplace incident which killed his friend, Noel Ormes.
The incident occurred at Owen’s Electric Motor Rewinds in Gympie.
A Workplace Health and Safety investigation found that a generator was delivered on a flatbed truck and was unloaded with the help of Ormes.
It found that Owen used a forklift truck to remove the generator from the back of the truck but it fell from the forklift and landed on Ormes.
The prosecution argued that Owen’s conduct caused the death of his friend because he had operated the forklift negligently and he was not licensed to operate it and the business had no documented health and safety procedures.
The court was told that the forklift did not have the lifting capacity to unload the generator.
In sentencing Owen, Judge Glen Cash, QC, too into account Owen’s remorse, his clean record and his personal circumstances.
