A COMPANY has been fined $38,000 over the death of a 17-year-old boy who fell through a gap in a roof while working on a Perth construction project.
Wesley Ballantine fell through a void in the roof of an internal atrium that was being built between floors two and three at the GPO building in Forrest Place as it was being converted to an H&M store in 2017.
The teen was on night shift and installing glass panels when he plunged about 12 metres to the ground floor.
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Valmont WA, the main contractor for the final stage of the project, was charged with failing to ensure non-employees were not exposed to hazards. It was sentenced in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday.
“Although it was not alleged that Valmont caused Wesley’s death, the company failed in its duty to ensure that its subcontractor was working safely,” WorkSafe WA commissioner Darren Kavanagh said.
“The court heard a Valmont site supervisor had seen Wesley and his manager on the atrium steel framework not wearing safety harnesses and with no other suitable safety measures in place.”
Mr Kavanagh said the pair were called down and told to wear safety harnesses and personal protective equipment, but there was no adequate fall prevention system for them to connect to.
“The Valmont site supervisor did not follow his own company’s procedures for dealing with non-conformance and taking corrective action, so the company deserved to be prosecuted over their failure to protect workers,” he said.
The company was also ordered to pay costs of $8054.
Industrial Construction Services, director Adam Tony Forsyth and manager Luke Fraser Corderoy were in June charged with causing Wesley’s death and will face court at a later date.
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