Inspector Beacham v J & L Marble Pty Ltd [2009] NSWIRComm 100

Industrial Court of New South Wales

CITATION: Inspector Beacham v J & L Marble Pty Ltd [2009] NSWIRComm 100

PROSECUTOR Inspector Peter Beacham

FIRST DEFENDANT J & L Marble Pty Ltd PARTIES: SECOND DEFENDANT Ji Liang Gao

THIRD DEFENDANT Jiang Qiang Ji

FILE NUMBER(S): IRC 1818, 1819 and 1820 of 2008

CORAM: Staff J

CATCHWORDS: Occupational health and safety - Building industry - Employee suffered crush injuries when trapped between marble slabs - Fatality - Obvious risk to safety - Risk foreseeable - General deterrence - Specific deterrence - Subjective considerations - Consideration of corporate defendant's limited financial resources - No earlier prosecutions - Pleas of guilty - Penalty imposed - Costs - Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 (NSW), s 8(1) and s 26(1) - Fines Act 1996, s 6

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 LEGISLATION CITED: Fines Act 1996 Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000

Capral Aluminium Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (2000) 49 NSWLR 610; (2000) 99 IR 29 Dunlop Rubber Australia Limited v Buckley (1952) 87 CLR 313 at 320 Inspector Chadwick v Denbur Constructions Pty Limited [2004] NSWIRComm 195 Maddaford v CSR Limited and Mulgoa Quarries Pty Ltd [2004] NSWIRComm 337 McLean v Tedman and Another (1984) 155 CLR 306 Morrison v Coal Operations Australia Ltd (No 2) (2005) 141 IR 465 CASES CITED: Morrison v Powercoal Pty Ltd (2003) 130 IR 364 R v Thomson; R v Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 WorkCover Authority (NSW) (Inspector Egan) v Atco Controls Pty Ltd (1998) 82 IR 80 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Farrell) v Schrader (2002) 112 IR 284 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Robert Mayell) v D J Gleeson Pty Ltd [2006] NSWIRComm 363 WorkCover Authority (NSW) (Inspector Hopkins) v Profab Industries Pty Ltd (2000) 49 NSWLR 700 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Twynam-Perkins) v Maine Lighting Pty Limited (1995) 100 IR 248