She was found to be liable — as was subcontractor Thiess, now known as Ventia — and claims against Western Power were dismissed.
"Western Power breached that duty of care by failing to have a system for undertaking the periodic inspection of wooden point of attachment poles owned by consumers and used to support live electrical apparatus," it said.Thiess carried 35 per cent, while the property owner's liability was now only 15 per cent.
S&G practice group leader Rory Walsh said Western Power had argued that responsibility to inspect the poles lay with private landowners. The court found that a "reasonable operator" would have had periodic inspections of wooden poles older than 15 years, particularly in areas that were prone to bushfires.Slater and Gordon said more compensation was likely to be available to the plaintiffs, and it should be promptly paid.
Every power company in Australia should be made, by force of legislation, to underground all their powerlines etc.
It's way past the time when power lines should be underground.
That must have been a whopper of a power pole if it razed 57 homes. Doesn’t the ABC have editing facilities?