Finding into death of Gregory Roberts
Deceased
Gregory Roberts
Demographics
37y, male
Date of death
2019-11-30
Finding date
2022-07-22
Cause of death
Complications of electrocution and injuries sustained in a fall
AI-generated summary
Gregory Roberts, a 37-year-old builder, died from complications of electrocution and injuries sustained in a fall after inadvertently touching a 22,000-volt high-voltage aerial powerline with a metal tape measure while working on scaffolding at a residential construction site. The incident occurred on 25 November 2019 and he died on 30 November 2019. Key clinical lessons include the importance of recognising the severity of high-voltage electrical injuries, which cause both direct tissue damage and cardiac complications. While the scaffold complied with Electricity Safety Regulations, it did not comply with Energy Safe Victoria guidelines regarding the 'No Go Zone' clearance of 4.6m—the measured distance was only 3.3m. The death was preventable through proper electrical hazard management, including obtaining a Permit to Work for the high-voltage line (not issued), ensuring adequate clearance compliance, and implementing engineering controls. Construction workers require better training on electrical hazard awareness and distance requirements around powerlines.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Inadvertent contact with high-voltage aerial powerline using metal tape measure
- Inadequate clearance distance from high-voltage line (3.3m measured vs 4.6m required by Energy Safe Victoria guidelines)
- Permit to Work issued only for low-voltage service line, not for high-voltage aerial line
- Incomplete scaffolding not clearly marked as such
- Lack of awareness of minimum clearance distances between persons and aerial lines
- Strong windy conditions on the day
Coroner's recommendations
- WorkSafe to continue focus on management of electrical risks during site inspections
- WorkSafe to assist small Victorian construction businesses understand high-risk construction work and develop Safe Work Method Statements
- WorkSafe to identify opportunities to educate and drive behavioural change in industry regarding electrical hazards
- Implementation of higher-order engineering controls such as GoUpSafely high-voltage protection systems that detect power lines and lock-out machine motions
- Asset owners and electricity suppliers to ensure engineering controls form part of permit to work systems
- Increased availability and use of high-voltage protection systems across the construction industry
Full text
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