Employer fined over horrifying workplace incident that left a man with permanent facial injuries

A horrifying workplace incident left a man with 47 facial fractures and permanent eye damage after a piece of titanium struck him in the face. The man was working at a machining and heavy metal fabrication business in Balcatta, in Perth’s north, when he was asked to bump bend a piece of 12mm thick grade 2 titanium using a press brake machine. When the employee was bending the titanium, a piece broke free and hit him in the face. He suffered serious and permanent facial injuries, including dozens of fractures, a 15cm laceration and eye damage from the incident, which took place in May 2021. His employer Twoex Pty Ltd, trading as West City Engineering, was fined $255,990 in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday for failing to provide or maintain a safe workplace and causing serious harm to an employee WorkSafe commissioner Sally North said it was disappointing to find workplaces were not conducting risk assessments for non-routine work. Ms North said the court was told the employer had not carried out a formal risk assessment or job hazard analysis to identify the potential risks involved in this particular job. The commissioner said the company should have ensured its employees did not bump press titanium without safeguards in place to eliminate or minimise any risks to workers’ safety. “The company did have a safe work procedure for the press brake, but it was kept in the office and only shown to workers when they were learning how to use the machine and was not regularly consulted or reviewed,” she said. “The injured worker was an experienced fabricator and did understand the risks and control measures involved in operating the press brake. “However, it was not routine for him to work on titanium, which has different properties to other metals, and this should have been taken into consideration.” Ms North said case should remind workplaces using potentially hazardous machinery that risk assessments needed to be carried out for each task. “Especially when the task is not undertaken regularly, as these assessments are fundamental to making sure the right safety controls are identified and used,” she said.