By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A former factory-hand, who was dragged, tossed and mangled in a paint-mixing machine, claims he raised a few safety concerns with his workplace Regent Paints.
In his statement of claim as part of a compo lawsuit, Leon Hamer states he warned of a lack of guarding around the machine, the lack of emergency stops and not being shown safety emergency procedures.
Mr Hamer claims that his manager replied: “You’ll be right, don’t worry about it.”
Two years later, Mr Hamer, 43, of Dandenong, is suing his former workplace over his devastating injuries.
On 6 October 2020, he claims he was cleaning a mixing machine which he describes as a “large blender with a mixing blade” that rotates up to 1700 revs a minute.
Wearing disposable rubber gloves, he allegedly held a piece of sandpaper to scrape dried paint off the unguarded shaft as it spun in front of him.
“As I was holding the sandpaper at either end, the sandpaper gripped and I was pulled into the machine by my left arm,” his statement of claim says.
He claims he rotated around the machine for several minutes before a colleague turned off the electricity mains.
It took paramedics and a fire officer 45 minutes to cut him free.
He says he was conscious during the entire incident.
A six-hour operation at The Alfred hospital saved the arm.
Mr Hamer told the Star Journal that he believes he was lucky to have been dragged ‘up’ the shaft.
If he was pulled down into the machine, he would have been “human paste”.
Regent Paints is also being prosecuted for workplace safety breaches by the Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA).
It faces a mention hearing at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 6 October.
With so much life in front of him, Mr Hamer is now a disability pensioner with “all of these old man problems”.
“I’m not into office work. And as a factory worker, I’m no longer hireable. My employment prospects are zero.
“I’m watching a lot of Netflix. I’m so sick of sitting in my corner with nothing to do.”
As he starts physiotherapy, his body is only just starting to “heal” from the “shock”, he says.
He’s lost a vast section of bone in his forearm, his shoulder no longer supports itself and there are two major fractures that will “never heal themselves”.
He’s also receiving counselling for his recurring post-trauma nightmares.
Mr Hamer survives on work compo payments from WorkCover which amounts to 80 per cent of his previous wage.
He is suing Regent Paints for compensation for his pain and suffering, loss of past and future income, loss of enjoyment of life.
In this case, Regent Paints is also indemnified by the VWA – which means the VWA effectively would pay any compensation.
Lawyer Ashleigh Kemp, from Shine Lawyers, says Regent Paints negligently failed to provide a safe workplace.
“Despite Leon’s warnings, (Regent) failed to install guarding on the paint mixing machines.
“The fact power had to be cut to the entire factory just to switch off the machine suggests there was no emergency stop button and staff were unsure how to respond to such an incident.”
According to WorkSafe stats, Greater Dandenong workplaces are the most deadly in the state, with 13 workers killed between 2018-’21.
Last year, there were more than 1200 workplace injury claims in Greater Dandenong – the second most in Victoria behind the Melbourne council area.
WorkSafe and Regent Paints declined to comment.
