Zac Pac and J.I.T. Offset have been charged with multiple breaches of the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000. The companies worked out of the same premises at Ingleburn where they produced cardboard boxes with plain or glossy printing for customers.

In December 2007, a pallet of cardboard boxing tipped over onto an employee who was operating a forklift on site. The forklift driver was uninjured, and started to clean up the fallen sheeting with the assistance of another two other employees, when another two and a half pallets weighing more than a tonne fell onto the three men.

One of the workers involved in the incident suffered a fractured spine, a dislocated and fractured right elbow, cuts to his head requiring stitches and general cuts and abrasions. He was unfit for work for two months as a result his injuries.

The other two workers sustained soft tissue injuries, lower back muscle strain, and general cuts and abrasions.

A WorkCover investigation found that the safety conditions at the dual-facility were unsafe and that an incident of this type was predictable and preventable.

The Court fined Zac Pac $130,000, J.I.T Offset $60,000, and manager James Foran $3200. All three were ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs.

WorkCover NSW’s General Manager of Work Health and Safety Division John Watson said the companies had failed on multiple counts to provide a safe working environment for employees.

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