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An Australian juice company has been fined AU$120,000 after an young employee was scalped in a freak workplace accident.
Alex Trandafil, 18, was working at a Nippy's Waikerie Producers Pty Ltd packing shed in South Australia's Riverland when she had her entire scalp torn from her head in November 2020.
The judgement from SA Employment Tribunal said the incident happened after the young woman was asked to clear a blockage from a conveyor belt while the machinery was still running.
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Trandafil reached down to retrieve the fallen fruit and her hair was pulled into an unguarded sprocket and drive-chain system.
SA Employment Tribunal deputy president Katherine Eaton said in the days following the incident, the young woman had an unsuccessful scalp reattachment.
“Shortly after lunch, her hair was caught in unguarded machinery and her entire scalp was ripped from her head,” she said, as reported by 7NEWS.
“Despite the best efforts of the first responders and medical teams at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, attempts to reattach her scalp were only partially successful."
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She has since had multiple surgical procedures and will require ongoing treatment in the future.
"Not surprisingly, she also suffers psychologically from the effects of the injury and her ongoing disability and disfigurement," Eaton added.
"In an instant, her young and hopeful life flipped into shock, trauma, ongoing pain and disfigurement."
The Australian drink manufacturer pleaded guilty in the SA Employment Tribunal to a charge of failing its health and safety duty under the Work Health and Safety Act over the incident, and received a criminal conviction for failing to comply with its health and safety duty.
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Eaton said the accident had actually been foreseen and Nippy’s confirmed to the tribunal that a safety review of the machinery had been carried out in 2013.
The review had raised concerns of 'extreme consequence' of injury if hands or hair were caught in the moving chains.
“Despite this, not even the simple measure of placing a guard over that section of the machinery had been undertaken,” Eaton said.
“That workers were required as part of their duties to enter that area while the elevator conveyor was operating is inexplicable.”
The company was fined AU$120,000 and ordered to pay court fees.
Keryn Donnelly