03:39 pm, Monday 14 May, 2007

Article from: AAP

A FORMER jockey who was left a quadriplegic after a race fall began civil action against insurance giant GIO today.

Outside Canberra Magistrates Court, Ray Silburn said he just wanted enough money to modify his car and house to accommodate his wheelchair.

“There’s so many (sic) stuff out there for disabilities that you can use to make your living so much easier that (I can’t afford at the moment) and that’s what we’re here to get,” Silburn said.

On February 25, 2005, Silburn fell between two horses. He broke three vertebrae and has been in a wheelchair since.

His lawyer, Carmine Santone, said the total cost of modifications would be between $100,000 and $150,000.

“A modified motor vehicle is the major expense and then we’ve got some modifications around the home,” Mr Santone said.

GIO, Canberra Racing Club’s insurer, has denied liability for home modifications and the car.

The hearing continues.

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12:35 pm, Monday 14 May, 2007

Article From The Age

A cleaner is in a stable condition after his arm was crushed during a workplace accident at Melbourne Airport this morning.

The Craigieburn man, aged in his 60s, was trapped when a waste container slipped from a compactor truck in the flight catering area of the airport.

The man’s left arm was pinned below the elbow shortly after 7am and WorkSafe Victoria officers are now on site investigating the cause of the accident. It is believed the man was a sub-contractor for a company used by Qantas.

Doctors operated on the man this morning after he was taken by ambulance to the the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

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09:14 am, Sunday 13 May, 2007

Queensland employers are to have their workers’ compensation premiums cut even further, saving business more than $30 million a year, the state government says.

Deputy Premier Anna Bligh said the WorkCover Queensland fund would be cut to an average premium rate of $1.15 for every $100 an employer pays in wages.

She said the new rate was down 4.2 per cent from $1.20 last year.

“This is fantastic news for Queensland employers who now have had the lowest average premium rate of any Australian state for eight years and received premium rate cuts for the past three consecutive years,” Ms Bligh said.

She said while premiums had remained low, benefits to injured workers had increased.

“The Queensland scheme is one of the country’s most worker friendly, including entitlements to benefits that many other states and the commonwealth schemes do not provide, including for journey and recess claims,” Ms Bligh said.

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12:30 pm, Friday 11 May, 2007

Article from: The West

A man has been injured on a farm near Kununurra after it is believed he was run over by a tractor.

It is understood the man sustained serious chest injuries and will be flown to Royal Perth Hospital this afternoon.

It is the second farming-related accident in the past 24 hours.

Yesterday, a was crushed to death by a tree branch he was cutting from a fallen tree near Harvey.

The 72-year-old Cookernup man was working with his son to cut up the fallen tree when the accident happened.

WA safety watchdog WorkSafe sent investigators to the farm, near Harvey, 140km south of Perth today.

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05:04 pm, Thursday 10 May, 2007

Article from: AAP

ABOUT one in four employees say fellow workers take illegal drugs at work, a survey has found.

Human resources and recruitment firm Talent2 said an internet survey of more than 1700 people in several different industry groups showed a high number of people who took illegal drugs while on the job.

Those aged between 18 and 24 were nearly five times more likely to have consumed drugs than the rest of the working population, said Talent2 director John Banks.

Between 25 and 30 per cent of sales and marketing, engineering, manufacturing, construction and government workers said they had heard of someone in their workplace taking illegal drugs at work.

“HR – human resources – was even higher on 32 per cent because in that HR function, people were reporting it to them because it would be of concern,” Mr Banks said.

In contrast, a scant 1 per cent of respondents in most industries actually admitted taking illegal substances themselves.

But unlike the work culture of even a few years ago, employers were now aware that allowing employees to drink or take drugs on the job could leave them legally liable for any damage or injury they caused.

“If you saw someone who was pie-eyed or even came back drunk after lunch, there would be disciplinary action,” Mr Banks said.

“Because of the legal infrastructure now, either having a peer or a boss coming back to work under the influence of either drugs or alcohol leaves you, as an organisation, open to legal issues.”

In the engineering, manufacturing and construction industries, at least half believed it was an employer’s responsibility to test prospective employees.

“It’s a sign of the times – particularly for that younger age group, 18 to 24 year olds,” Mr Banks said.

“A lot of employers now are using occupational health and safety testing prior to their employment but it’s often under the guise of questions like ‘Can you lift heavy weights?’ and ‘Are you fit and healthy’ – particularly in that manufacturing environment.

“If you are driving a forklift through a factory, you can do a lot of damage.”

Mr Banks said employers had a responsibility to educate their staff and ensure that all incidents of drug consumption at work were reported to management.

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04:31 pm, Thursday 10 May, 2007

Article from: AAP

A FORMER sailor who claimed he suffered a mental injury after witnessing the Voyagerdisaster has won $20,000 compensation after he took his case to a Victorian appeals court.

John Robert Cavenett was 21 years old and a medic aboard the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbournewhen it collided with the destroyer HMAS Voyager in February 1964, slicing it in half.

It was Australia’s worst peacetime naval disaster, claiming 82 lives during what was a routine exercise in Jervis Bay, off the New South Wales south coast.

Mr Cavenett, now 64, initiated proceedings for damages in 1996 for post traumatic stress disorder which he said was caused by the naval disaster.

He said he did not recognise the condition until he was treated by a psychiatrist in 1996. Under Victorian law these cases must be brought before the courts within six years.

A Victorian Supreme Court judge initially dismissed the proceedings saying Mr Cavenett had not satisfied him that he was not aware that he suffered the condition at the time of the incident.

Today at the Court of Appeal, a majority of two to one judges accepted Mr Cavenett’s evidence that he did not discover his mental illness until he saw a psychiatrist in 1996.

Justice Chris Maxwell said that in a case of mental injury time does not begin to run until the plaintiff knows that their mental condition is a mental illness which would be recognised by a medical professional.

The court allowed the appeal and granted him $20,000 with interest dating back to 1996 plus costs.

Mr Cavenett’s solicitor Garry Mann said his client was happy his legal battle was finally over.

“He’s happy that it’s over after 43 years,” Mr Mann said.

“It’s not as good result as he would have liked but it’s over.”

He said that since the litigation started several cases have been dealt with and about 50 were outstanding in Victoria and New South Wales.

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02:00 am, Thursday 10 May, 2007

Article from: AAP

PIZZA store staff who overpowered an armed robber and held him until police arrived are having their actions investigated by the West Australian work safety watchdog.

Police allege two armed bandits tried to hold up a pizza store in southeastern Kenwick last night, but staff tackled one of the would-be robbers causing him to drop his pistol.

The man’s accomplice bolted after unsuccessfully trying to get the gun back while staff held the first man until police arrived.

Officers investigating the attempted robbery say they arrested the accomplice today.

They have charged a 27-year-old from Halls Head with attempted armed robbery.

A 27-year-old man from Gosnells was charged with four counts of armed robbery of retail premises in the southeastern suburbs of Maddington, Kelmscott, Gosnells and Belmont between May 4 and 7 this year.

Police are considering further charges over the attempted robbery in Kenwick.

Meanwhile, WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today she was investigating the actions of the pizza store staff who overpowered the armed robber.

“We’re very concerned that people may get the impression that attempting to overpower an armed robber is a good idea,” she said.

“If a person is desperate enough to commit an armed robbery, you can never be sure how violent that person may become.”

Workplaces such as late-night food outlets, chemists and service stations needed to have an established armed hold-up procedure, with all staff trained in its use, Ms Lyhne said.

“The best course of action is to co-operate with the robber – it is never worth putting yourself and others at risk in these situations by trying to be a hero,” she said.

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08:24 pm, Wednesday 9 May, 2007

Article from: AAP

PIZZA store staff who overpowered an armed robber and held him until police arrived are having their actions investigated by the West Australian work safety watchdog.

Police allege two armed bandits tried to hold up a pizza store in southeastern Kenwick last night, but staff tackled one of the would-be robbers causing him to drop his pistol.

The man’s accomplice bolted after unsuccessfully trying to get the gun back while staff held the first man until police arrived.

Officers investigating the attempted robbery say they arrested the accomplice today.

They have charged a 27-year-old from Halls Head with attempted armed robbery.

A 27-year-old man from Gosnells was charged with four counts of armed robbery of retail premises in the southeastern suburbs of Maddington, Kelmscott, Gosnells and Belmont between May 4 and 7 this year.

Police are considering further charges over the attempted robbery in Kenwick.

Meanwhile, WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today she was investigating the actions of the pizza store staff who overpowered the armed robber.

“We’re very concerned that people may get the impression that attempting to overpower an armed robber is a good idea,” she said.

“If a person is desperate enough to commit an armed robbery, you can never be sure how violent that person may become.”

Workplaces such as late-night food outlets, chemists and service stations needed to have an established armed hold-up procedure, with all staff trained in its use, Ms Lyhne said.

“The best course of action is to co-operate with the robber – it is never worth putting yourself and others at risk in these situations by trying to be a hero,” she said.

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09:40 am, Wednesday 9 May, 2007

Source:ABC New England

Police and WorkCover representatives are expected to meet representatives of the Central Ranges Gas Pipeline in Tamworth today to discuss an accident in which a man was badly burnt yesterday.

The 34-year-old is being treated for severe burns in Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.

The fire brigade’s regional commander, Michael Brown, says while the situation was serious, an LPG gas fire would have been more difficult to deal with.

“Natural gas is lighter than air, so any leak would dissipate into the atmosphere. LPG tends to be heavier than air and sink into pits and creeklines,” he said.

“If you have a leak without a source of ignition, it can build up until it finds its ignition source and that can lead to a gas explosion.”

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08:32 am, Tuesday 8 May, 2007

Source: ABC Central West

The safety standards of a timber mill at Blayney have again come into question after two workers at the plant were injured.

The state’s workplace safety authority, WorkCover New South Wales, issued Blayney Treated Pine with six safety improvement notices in March, after the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union contacted it with concerns over the welfare of staff.

WorkCover handed down two more improvement notices last week when two workers had to be taken to hospital because of injuries sustained in separate accidents.

One worker is now back at work and the other is expected to return soon.

Production manager Norman Kim says the company is working to educate staff on safe work practices.

“We’re trying to get the senior WorkCover people to come out and just go through everything with us and trying to get the union out here as well,” he said.

Mr Kim says it has complied with the previous recommendations.

“We fulfilled it within a week and they came out a few days later and they cleared everything,” he said.

A WorkCover spokesman says it is monitoring the situation and the company is cooperating.

A union representative says he is hoping to visit the plant this week.

He says the recent industrial accidents confirm his fears that it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.

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