5 days ago
A man who died after falling from a scissor lift in Launceston had a 'mental lapse', a magistrate has found
A Tasmanian magistrate says a man who fell from a scissor lift to a his death had a "mental lapse", and has dismissed the company that contracted him of all but one safety charge.
Gerard Dezoete died after he stepped off a raised scissor lift at a construction site in central Launceston on June 17, 2020.
In a ruling, delivered in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Monday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Ken Stanton said he believed Mr Dezoete mistakenly thought he was at ground level.
"Of course, when the scissor lift was being raised, Mr Dezoete must have been aware that was occurring," his decision read.
"Nonetheless, as he later looked along the wall on which he had been working, he would have seen that the eaves were the same height above him as they had been when the scissor lift was at ground level. The ground would have appeared level.
Chief Magistrate Stanton said the natural way to get off the scissor lift was to step backwards, and, in doing so, the scene Mr Dezoete saw would have been similar to when the scissor lift was not extended.
"Such common lapses are a common part of everyday human experience. Unfortunately, as this case illustrates, sometimes they have disastrous consequences," he said.
The charges of failing to comply with a health and safety duty category two and category three, failing to ensure a safe work method statement for proposed work was prepared, and failing to review a safe work method statement were all dismissed against Bisrey Pty Ltd, trading as RnB Painting, the company that contracted Mr Dezoete.
But the chief magistrate found a charge of failing to ensure a safe work method statement was given to the principal contractor had been proven.
While the painting and rendering business had been using extension ladders, the day before the fall, Tas City Buildings, which Bisrey was contracted to, advised there was a scissor lift available at the site for employees to use.
Bisrey manager Liam Reynolds printed a generic safe work method statement (SWMS) for the machine and put it in his car, intending to take it to the worksite.
But by the time he arrived, Mr Dezoete had already fallen.
"Using the scissor lift was manifestly more convenient than using ladders … it would have appeared to be safer than using ladders.
"I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Reynolds knew the scissor lift would be used when it was," chief magistrate's decision read.
But he wrote that as an experienced tradesman, it would be "surprising" if Mr Dezoete had not worked extensively with scissor lifts before, that he likely knew how to operate one, and that it was appropriate for Bisrey to rely on his apparent knowledge and skills.
The chief magistrate said even though providing a SWMS would have been unlikely to reduce the risk of falling from height, delivering one would have been a "simple, straightforward task with very little cost".
"Mr Reynolds had prioritised other business activities over delivering it to the site and providing it," he said.
Bisrey's defence lawyer, Greg Richardson, told the court neither the company, nor its director, had any prior convictions, and that the company had always been conscious of safety measures, calling the tragedy "a result of inadvertence".
"You don't need a document to tell you not to step off an elevated platform," he told the court.
The matter will return to court in late July for sentencing.
