Inspector Paul Jorgensen v Christopher John O'Keeffe and CJ & SJ O'Keeffe Building Pty Ltd [2004] NSWIRComm 397

Industrial Relations Commission New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Inspector Paul Jorgensen v Christopher John O'Keeffe and CJ & SJ O'Keeffe Building Pty Ltd [2004] NSWIRComm 397 Hearing dates: 06/07/2004; 06/08/2004; 06/09/2004; 06/10/2004; 06/11/2004; 07/19/2004; 07/20/2004; 07/21/2004; 07/23/2004; 09/27/2004; 10/05/2004 Decision date: 17 December 2004 Jurisdiction: Industrial Court of NSW Before: Haylen J Decision: See [200] Catchwords: Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 - s 16(1) and s 50(1) - construction site connected to main road by narrow laneway - laneway used by heavy trucks and trucks with trailers to remove excavated material - movement of trucks to and from the site alleged to be a risk to safety of pedestrians and vehicular traffic - pedestrian with sight disability hit and killed on footpath outside building site - whether footpath and vicinity of laneway outside site was employer's place of work - police investigation holds pedestrian responsible - improvement notices require signs to warn traffic and pedestrians - s 53 defences - whether accident avoidable - defences not proved - defendants found guilty. Statutes - interpretation - meaning and extent of "place of work" in s 16 Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 Words and Phrases - "place of work" - s 16 Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 Cases Cited: Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales [2004] NSWIRComm 270 Butler v Fife Coal Co [1912] AC 149 at 178-179 Inspector Campbell v James Gordon Hitchcock [2004] NSWIRComm 87 Inspector Clarke v W L Meinhardt & Partners Pty Ltd (unreported, 30 June 1992, No 1213 of 1990) Inspector Hardman v Allied Construction Pty Ltd (unreported, 21 December 1990 Inspector Page v Woolworths Ltd and Growth Equities Ltd (unreported, [1994] NSWIRComm 95, 9 September 1994) Inspector Twynam-Perkins v Maine Lighting Pty Ltd (1995) 100 IR 248 at 257: Kirkby v A & M Hanson Pty Ltd (1994) 55 IR 40 Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority (Inspector Charles) [2000] 102 IR 84, Mulder v Claude Neon Pty Ltd, unreported, CIM - 12 July 1991 Rice v Henley (1914) 19 CLR 19 at 22 Riley v Australian Grader Hire Pty Ltd (2000) 103 IR 143 at [15] Category: Principal judgment Parties: PROSECUTOR: Inspector Paul Jorgensen