Neglect safety's "poor cousin" at your peril, says lawyer

Employers neglect safety's "poor cousin" - health - at their peril, particularly as the two are so often inextricably linked, a safety lawyer warns. Also in this article, a Comcare boss stresses the value of harassment-specific risk assessments.

"I see a lot of reference to safety, but not to health," Sparke Helmore partner Paul Cutrone said of his 18 years in OHS law, at the National Workplace Safety Summit in Sydney last week.

"[But] some health risks are directly linked to safety risks. If you don't identify health risks, the regulator will - after an event."

The 2003 Waterfall train disaster - in which the train driver most likely had a heart attack prior to the derailment in which he and six passengers were killed - provides a profound example of this, Cutrone said.

In that incident, the Tangara train was equipped with a "deadman" safety system, whereby a foot pedal was released and the brakes automatically applied when drivers became incapacitated or left their seat.

An investigation found, however, that employees (such as the driver of the doomed train) who weighed more than 90kg "could hold the pedal in the set position through the weight of their legs whilst incapacitated", and the NSW State Rail Authority was fined $385,000 for OHS breaches.

According to Cutrone, a risk assessment focussed on health could have identified the risk.

"The real challenge with health is that often we don't see the immediate impact," he said.

Stress-specific risk assessments critical


Comcare work health director Christina Bolger, who also spoke at the summit, said that while many Commonwealth employers were seeing declining physical injury rates, they were still struggling with diseases, such as psychological disorders.

Psychological injuries account for about nine per cent of workers' compensation claims, but 30 per cent of claims costs, Bolger said.

Employers, she said, must conduct bullying, harassment and stress-specific risk assessments, and train line managers in identifying signs of distress and supporting their staff.

"The line manager is the prism through which the workplace is perceived," she said. If injured workers can trust their immediate superiors, they will trust the employer.

Bolger also stressed the importance of getting injured staff back to work as quickly as possible.

The health risks of long-term worklessness are equivalent to smoking 10 packets of cigarettes a day, she said, referring to research.

"Not only is the workplace a good place to be, it's a good place to recover." It is critical for those with mental health issues "to be kept and supported at work".