Canberra construction worker ‘extremely lucky to be alive’ after bobcat fell on top of him

The building site in Kambah was shut down after the accident late on Wednesday.

ACT WorkSafe Commissioner Greg Jones said the man was “extremely lucky to be alive” and it was “a preventable accident”.

Mr Jones said the bobcat was reversing near a trench when a plumber working in the waist-deep hole was badly hurt.

“The bobcat went too close to the trench and actually slipped, fell or rolled into the trench, trapping one of the workers, who has now suffered very serious leg injuries,” he said.

Mr Jones said there should have been barriers around the trench and when work safety inspectors arrived at the site they found more problems.

“We ordered last night that some of the scaffolding needs to be completely removed and properly constructed,” he said.

Mr Jones said the site, on the corner of Snodgrass Crescent and O’Halloran Circuit, could remain shut until next week.

In a separate incident, also on Wednesday, a worksite in Coombs was issued a prohibition notice over concerns someone could fall from the scaffolding.

“The industry should take note that they need to check their worksites everyday to make sure they’re safe,” he said.

“Be warned that WorkSafe will be checking and if there are serious breaches we will take firm regulatory action against those that are non-compliant and not looking after their workers.”

Mr Jones said the Coombs site would also remain closed until the breaches had been fixed.

Source: ABC