Finding into death of Philip Stanley Dickson
Deceased
Philip Stanley Dickson
Demographics
58y, male
Date of death
2008-10-02
Finding date
2013-09-06
Cause of death
Multiple injuries from crush injury by falling timber stack
AI-generated summary
Philip Dickson, a 58-year-old experienced timber yard worker, died when a stack of timber approximately 6-7 metres high collapsed and crushed him while he worked in a drying shed. The coroner found the death was preventable. WorkSafe had inspected the facility 8 weeks prior but did not inspect the specific shed where the incident occurred, and no enforcement action was taken despite observed unsafe stacking practices. The company subsequently implemented safer procedures including height restrictions (4:1 ratio), ground stabilisation, and formal training. The coroner emphasised that the unsafe stacking system, lack of adequate hazard assessment, and insufficient risk controls directly contributed to this avoidable workplace death.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Inadequate system of work for stacking timber
- Failure to conduct adequate hazard identification and risk assessment
- Inadequate information, instruction, training and supervision
- Unstable ground conditions with poor drainage and uneven terrain
- Excessive stack heights (6-7 metres, later reduced to 4:1 ratio)
- Lack of enforcement action by WorkSafe despite August 2008 inspection
- WorkSafe inspection did not include the drying shed where incident occurred
Coroner's recommendations
- Implementation of safer stacking procedures with height restrictions (4:1 ratio)
- Ground stability assessment and remediation (filling pot holes and wheel ruts)
- Placement of bearers square and on stable ground directly below stacking
- Visual assessment of stacks and control measures for falling stack hazard
- Enhanced hazard identification and risk assessment for timber stacking
- Adequate information, instruction, training and supervision for stacking procedures
- Adoption of Project 181 'zero tolerance' approach to timber stacking by operators
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