A worker has been convicted following the death of a colleague who was struck by a forklift load at a warehouse in Lara.
53-year-old Michael Gorman faced the Geelong County Court for sentencing on Friday, after pleading pleading guilty to failing to take reasonable care for he health of safety of his colleague.
It comes following an incident in October 2021, where Gorman and a colleague were using a forklift to remove a steel rack, which housed numerous pieces of sheet metal and weighed more than a tonne, from a shed in the maintenance area.
The court heard Gorman was operating the forklift on an uneven surface when the unbalanced load tipped and fatally crushed the other worker, who was nearby acting as a spotter.
Following an investigation, WorkSafe found Gorman had obtained the appropriate licence and training needed to operate the forklift in the years prior to the incident, which included a safety induction at the workplace less than 12 months before.
Despite this, Gorman admitted that he failed to take reasonable care while operating the forklift.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said the death was a tragic reminder that everyone had a responsibility to keep each other safe at work.
“It is unquestionably up to employers to provide a safe working environment, but workers must ensure their own actions do not place anyone else in a workplace at risk of harm,” Mr Jenkin said.
“This worker had the required training, qualifications and experience to know how to better keep his colleague safe and now has to live with the terrible consequences of not doing so.”
Gorman has been convicted and placed on a six month good behaviour bond.
