It should never have happened: Man dies in plumbing trench on 91st birthday
A Sydney plumbing company has been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars after a 91-year-old man died in a narrow trench dug by its plumbers in his backyard.
Proflow Plumbing and Maintenance was ordered to pay $300,000 by an NSW District Court judge, who reprimanded the company for failing to prevent the “readily foreseeable” incident.
Leslie Sloan endured an “agonising and degrading” death on his birthday at 8am on July 21, 2017 after falling into the 1.5m-deep trench, the court heard.
Sloan was found by his son John wedged face-up in the hole and dressed only in a singlet, underwear and one sock.
The pensioner was unable to be reached or helped until emergency services arrived, Judge David Russell said.
The 91-year-old died during rescue efforts from hypothermia. Overnight temperatures had dropped to 6.2C.
“All of the family victims who gave victim impact statements are haunted by the fact that their father – a proud, active and loving family man – died an agonising and degrading death over several hours, a death which was completely preventable,” Judge Russell said.
Leaving the trench uncovered was “a risk which would have been recognised by a first-year apprentice”, the judge said.
“The burden or inconvenience of steps to eliminate or minimise the risk was minimal,” he said. “The offender had some basic materials in its truck, but even these were not used.”
Proflow admitted it breached its duty of care to Sloan.
Aside from the fine, Proflow was also ordered to pay SafeWork NSW’s legal costs, amounting to $26,400.