Abattoir lawyer accused of 'blame shifting' after worker loses foot

Australia Broadcast Center

3 days ago

A New South Wales Riverina abattoir has been accused of "blame shifting" despite pleading guilty to charges related to a workplace injury that resulted in a worker losing his foot.
During a sentencing hearing in the NSW District Court in Sydney on Tuesday, defence counsel representing Hilltop Meats in Young, Bruce Hodgkinson, said an auger system in which the worker's foot became entangled had a lock-out system that could have prevented the 2021 incident.
He told the court that lock-out system would have demobilised the machine.
"That's not a complex procedure," Mr Hodgkinson said.
The worker had been clearing a blockage in the meat auger conveyor in October 2021 when a colleague turned the machine back on, causing his foot to become caught inside the screw mechanism.
Emergency crews worked for more than two hours to free the man in his 30s, who suffered significant injuries to both legs and later had a foot amputated.
SafeWork NSW started action against the meat processing facility in 2023.
Hilltop Meats pleaded guilty in March to failures which allowed the worker to be exposed to dangerous moving parts of the auger, admitted to placing the worker at risk of falling from height on the auger and being at risk of death or serious injury.
It further admitted it failed to conduct a risk assessment of the task of removing blockages in the auger.
Crown prosecutor Matthew Moir accused the defence of "blame shifting".
"It's the duty holder who has the obligation to ensure employees are property trained, instructed in the correct method of work," he said.
He accused the defence of "trying to blame others … in particular [the victim]", for failing to follow the procedures in place.
The court heard the victim began work at the abattoir in 2015 and had previously been trained in the lock-out process, before he left the company in 2018.
The victim returned in July 2021.
The company had changed hands, however, Mr Moir noted the victim was not retrained in the lock-out procedure.
The court heard that about three months after the workplace incident, the victim was called back into work and reprimanded for his actions.
Judge Wendy Strathdee was concerned by the company's action.
"Would the more appropriate fashion have been to speak to the rest of the workplace rather than issue a written warning and threat of termination to the man who lost his foot," she said.
Mr Hodgkinson said the "difficult" decision to call in the victim had not been taken lightly but deemed it necessary.
"If they're going to take enforcement action, how are they going to do it if they don't go directly to [the victim]," he said.
Judge Strathdee said while she understood it was a "very difficult, delicate situation", she remained concerned the victim was reprimanded before he had returned to work.
The court heard workers had developed their own practice of clearing auger blockages, which were a common occurrence, by standing above the unguarded conveyor screw several metres above a concrete floor.
Agreed facts in the case showed workers told SafeWork the guards over the auger had been removed for months prior to the incident.
The court heard a maintenance supervisor had told a different worker not to stand in an unguarded auger, but no further action was taken.
It heard while the maintenance manager was aware of the practice, he did not tell senior management.
Mr Hodgkinson said they were unaware workers were engaging in the practice until the incident occurred.
Judge Strathdee adjourned proceedings and to hand down a judgement at a later date.