An Australian stone company has been fined nearly half a million dollars after one of its workers was crushed to death by 600kg of stone. Avant Stone, a stone supplier based in both Sydney and Newcastle, was fined $450,000 in the District Court of New South Wales last Thursday after it was found the company had insufficient safety systems in place.
In the district court, Avant Stone pleaded guilty to failing its work health and safety duty and therefore exposing Bauer to a risk of death or serious injury. “The risk was the risk of workers, in particular Mr Bauer, suffering serious injury or death as a result of being struck and/or crushed by a stone slab being unloaded by the overhead travelling crane, whilst undertaking work in the warehouse,” it was heard in court.