A Canberra man who hurt his back while working at a sawmill has been awarded more $1 million in compensation. Sources: Yahoo7, Canberra Times
Forty-five year old David Allan Frith suffered the injury in November 2007 when he was left to work alone at Integrated Forest Products in Hume.
The man, who had suffered an earlier back injury, had been a forklift driver at the business but when the company was winding down he was required to work at a planing mill shifting laden trolleys of logs.
Lifting the trolley was hard because of the weight, estimated at between 246 to 676 kilograms and the sawdust and woodchips on the floor.
The wheels on the trolley were old and rusty and did not move freely. He had to use a bending, twisting motion, with one hand on top of the trolley and a foot in the air to balance.
As he was pushing the trolley, Frith straightened up and felt a burning sensation in his lower back. He felt pain from his knee and up the back of his leg, had trouble walking and could not make it up a set of stairs.
Frith was then taken to the emergency department of the Canberra Hospital. He was left with permanent back injuries that have caused him to suffer severe back pain every day. The injury has also left him with permanent pain in his left leg.
Master David Harper said he was satisfied on the evidence that the sawmill and the system of work Frith was allocated to was unsafe. He found the trolleys to be unsafe, and the process of moving them to be “inherently hazardous in terms of the likelihood of back injury”.
“I am satisfied that the trolleys should have had handles and some means of securing the stacks of planks,” he said.
”The wheels, it seems to me, were not adequately maintained, and the floor should have been swept and kept clean.”
He said Frith was given no training or instruction on how to perform the new tasks, and ultimately found that the injury was caused by the negligence of the sawmill.
ACT Supreme Court Master David Harper found the company was liable and that the place and manner of work was unsafe.
“Frith has been left unemployable because of his injury, and has suffered from mental health issues since the incident.
”It will be with him for the rest of his life,” Master Harper said.
The payout includes lost past earnings of $189,000, lost future earnings of $400,000 and general damages of around $120,000. The total compensation amount is $1,025,309.
Early in 2006, he started working with a sawmill at Hume run by Integrated Forest Products Pty Ltd.
