Slabs crush man’s legs as injuries continue

By Nicole Williams
A NOBLE Park man is recovering in hospital after marble slabs weighing 600kg last week fell and crushed his legs.
The labourer, 32, was working at a Mulgrave factory on Thursday 21 April and moving three two-by-one metre marble slabs weighing 200 kilograms each when they fell, crushing his legs.
WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said the circumstances of the accident were not known as the man was working alone.
“There were no witnesses but in the course of the slabs being moved they’ve fallen and struck him, causing severe damage to his legs,” Mr Birt said.
The man was taken to The Alfred hospital.
Mr Birt said the man was using a grabbing device on a crane to move the slabs from an A-frame when they fell.
“For the young man, at 32, to have serious injuries or possible amputation at that age is absolutely life changing,” Mr Birt said.
“It is easy to provide people with the right gear and the right training and for people not to take shortcuts.”
After the accident WorkSafe issued several improvement notices to the business concerning maintenance, operating procedures and the mountings of the slabs.
“What we need people to understand is these things can be prevented very easily, quickly and frequently at no or very little cost,” Mr Birt said.
He said that because Dandenong was a strong industrial and manufacturing area, workplace accidents were common.
“In areas with a lot of industry, small and medium-sized businesses in particular need to be looking at maintenance of equipment, training and supervision,” Mr Birt said.
“The Dandenong region generally has a high rate of death and injury.”
For the past five financial years Dandenong has had the second highest rate of workplace injury in the state, with 8428 reported injuries.