WORKER'S COMPENSATION AND INJURY MANAGEMENT

Worker's Compensation and Injury Management Legislation

Worker's Compensation and Injury Management Legislation

Part 1: Worker's Compensation and Injury Management (WCIM) legislation in WA

The Worker's Compensation and Injury Management (WCIM) legislation in WA usually dealing with illnesses, diseases, accidents and injuries that occur in the workplace, or are attributable to workplace processes. Health and Safety Commission in its National Data Set for Compensation Statistics in 2004.28 Interestingly, workers compensation data from Western Australia relating to the duration of absence from work for agricultural workers shows that the cost of claims in this industry is 10 percent lower than the norm. Long duration claims. These researchers matched data from State and Territory OHS and workers compensation agencies with coroners' records finding that the agency records only accounted for about 64 percent of deaths recorded by the coroners. This research implies that there may be difficulties in accounting for injuries and managing work safety.

The application of OHS laws to the agricultural industry Fragar and Houlahan note that the approach to OHS in the agricultural industry has been fractured and hampered by poor data collection and subject to poor reception by agricultural workers who feel overwhelmed by government regulation. This is supported by the findings of fact in a number of OHS prosecutions and within the judgements of the courts. The data collected by many researchers is clearly reflected in the following brief survey of OHS prosecutions touching on farming accidents.

For example in Templeton v Pavese Citrus Pty Ltd 33 the farm accident involved the fatal injury of a casual fruit picker when he was run over by a tractor pulling two trailers between rows of fruit trees.

The defendant was the trustee of a family trust company (members of the family were working directors of the defendant) and was charged with breach of section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) by failing to ensure a safe system of work, provide safe premises, plant and equipment for the employee and failing to properly instruct and supervise the deceased employee. Staff J held that the employer's duty was proactive and that the mere stipulation of procedures and instructions to carry out work was not enough to amount to a defence to section 8. In this case the employee had parked his own vehicle across the rows of fruit trees contrary to instructions. In order to proceed with collection of fruit he alighted from the 1958 Massey Ferguson tractor to move his car, falling under the tractor in the process. It was held that the employer was in breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) because the risk of climbing on and off the tractor was foreseeable and easily remedied by properly instructing and supervising staff in the parking their cars. in WorkCover NSW v TP & MJ Holmes Pty Limited and Steven Holmes 34 an employee (Hall) was injured whilst working on a chicken manure processing and cattle farm when his arm ...