Director and company hit with $545k fine after gas leak injury

A telecommunications company and one of its directors have been convicted after a struck gas pipe caused a worker to pass out.

National Infrastructure Solutions, a telecommunications infrastructure company, was recently found guilty of reckless conduct endangering persons at a workplace and for failing to maintain a safe system of work – with both contraventions accounting for $250,000 in penalties.

The sentencing was carried out in the Moorabbin Magistrates Court, with co-director Robert Felice also facing repercussions after pleading guilty to “reckless conduct” that led to the endangerment of a person at the workplace.

Felice was hit with a $45,000 fine and ordered to pay costs of $4,284.

Back in January 2023, two company workers struck underground gas pipes while carrying out excavation works in the Bentleigh East area. Instead of stopping and reporting the mistake to the gas company and emergency services, Felice ordered the workers to continue digging and repairing the pipe.

One of the workers directed to repair the pipe entered the excavation a number of times, exiting each time with a shortness of breath. On his final attempt, the worker entered head first but lost consciousness due to the inhalation of gas in the tight space.

The worker was dragged out by his colleague and transported to the hospital for treatment of respiratory arrest, broken blood vessels in one eye, and chest pains from inhaling the gas and resuscitation efforts. As a result, the worker was diagnosed with acute stress disorder from the incident.

WorkSafe found that it was reasonably practicable for the company to “have maintained a safe system of work which ensured that, after the gas pipe was struck, all work activities were ceased; the owner of the gas pipe was contacted immediately to stop the leak and conduct repairs; the area was barricaded to keep vehicles and members of the public away; and the workers were evacuated to a safe distance”.

“By avoiding the paperwork of reporting a gas leak, this company and director deliberately put its workers and the public at risk of serious injury and even death,” said WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin.

“There’s no excuse for an employer to expose workers to this kind of risk, and WorkSafe will not hesitate to take action against employers who take shortcuts that gamble with people’s safety and wellbeing.”