Man dies after falling 5m in Sydney workplace accident

The death of a man who suffered serious head injuries when he fell 5m in a Sydney workplace accident could have been prevented, a court has been told.

ReidStitt Constructions builder operator Jason Stitt was on Friday found guilty of failing to comply with health and safety duties and thereby exposing a worker to a risk of death or serious injury over the 2019 death of worker Todd Connell.

Connell, who was working for a labour hire company, was hired by Stitt to install scaffolding for a job at a Sydney property on September 9, 2019.

He and another worker, Cristobal Rivera, erected the scaffold to a height of 8.65m.

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During the dismantling process on September 11, Connell attempted to pass a 25kg work platform to Rivera, who was standing on a boundary wall below and said he was off-balance, according to District Court documents.

Connell then tried to hold the weight of the work platform and in doing so, lent on the handrail on the level he was standing on.

“The handrail gave way and Mr Connell, the work platform and the handrail fell into the neighbouring property,” District Court judge Andrew Scotting said.

“Mr Connell fell 5.75m to the ground in the neighbouring property from a work platform that was installed 5.15m above the ground of the property.”

Connell fell over the top of the boundary wall and onto a paved pathway in the neighbouring property, leaving him with serious head injuries that proved fatal.

Rivera told the court there was no discussion about how to undertake the dismantling of the scaffold safely.

The court was also told a scaffold with a risk of falling more than 4m requires the worker to hold a high-risk work licence, which Connell and Rivera did not possess.

Stitt pleaded not guilty and argued the scaffold was not meant to be higher than 4m and was constructed to be higher than he requested.

He also said he gave a risk assessment, known as a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), for erecting the scaffold and on working at heights over 2m, and instructed the workers to follow the SWMS in reverse for deconstructing the scaffolding.

In his findings, Scotting accepted the scaffold was erected to a height where there was a risk of falling more than 4m, and that Stitt did not use someone who held the relevant licence to build or dismantle it.

“I am satisfied that the defendant failed to give adequate instructions to the workers to ensure that the scaffold was not erected to a height that required the engagement of a licensed scaffolder,” he said.

Scotting said he accepted Rivera’s evidence that Stitt saw the scaffold erected to a height well above what was allowed by regulations.

However, instead of then hiring a licensed scaffolder to dismantle it, Stitt instructed Riveria and Connell to take it down.

In the case Rivera’s evidence was wrong and Stitt did not see the erected scaffold, he still failed to supervise the workers adequately to ensure it was safely installed to the correct height, Scotting said.

“The defendant could have returned to the property at minimal inconvenience and expense in the relevant period to check that the scaffold had been erected by the workers in accordance with his instructions,” he said.

“He was required to ensure that there was no risk to the health and safety of the workers that he intended to use to dismantle the scaffold.

“It was common ground that if he had seen the scaffold as it was erected, that the defendant was required to engage a licensed scaffolder to dismantle it.”

Scotting said he was satisfied Stitt breached the health and safety duty that he owed to Connell by failing to engage a licensed person to carry out the scaffolding work, implement and enforce a system that addressed the specific steps for the scaffolding work, and provide adequate supervision of the workers carrying out the scaffolding.

He was also satisfied Stitt’s failure to take those steps were each a “significant or substantial cause of Mr Connell being exposed to a risk of death or serious injury” and found him guilty.

Sentencing will take place at a later date.