Crane Rental Company Convicted on OHS Charge and Fined $70,000

A crane rental company was hired for a construction project to provide a crane, which rolled into an excavation and pinned a worker to the wall. He died. The MOL inspection found that the crane was in a state of disrepair. For example, its brakes weren’t fully functional and one brake fluid reservoir was found to be empty and corroded. These defects should’ve been noticed by a competent worker inspecting the crane. The crane rental company was convicted of failing to ensure that the crane was maintained in a condition that wouldn’t endanger a worker but acquitted of the charge that lack of maintenance caused the crane to roll into the excavation and kill the worker. The court fined it $70,000 [Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd., Govt. News Release, June 6, 2013].