September 27, 2016
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is warning farmers to take heed of a recent court decision which saw a Tasmanian farmer ordered to pay $12 million compensation to an employee injured during a quad bike incident.
The Supreme Court decision has clarified what farmers are expected to do with quad bikes on farms.
Farmers have been told to ensure they and their employees wear helmets, maintain quad bikes regularly, including brakes and tyres, and ensure all employees are adequately trained.
An ABC media report quoted barrister Glynn Williams as saying there were four ways the farmer was found to be negligent.
“The first was that the rear brakes of the bike weren’t working or weren’t working well enough, that is, the bike should not have been used until it was fixed,” Mr Williams said.
“The second thing was that one of the tyres wasn’t fully inflated, that is, it shouldn’t have been used unless the puncture had been repaired or the tyre replaced.
“Thirdly, and this is very significant, that the employee had not been provided with adequate training and instruction to allow her to ride the quad bike safely.
“And fourth, and perhaps even most important of all, is that she was allowed to ride without being required to wear a safety helmet.”
According to WHSQ, 70 people have been killed using quad bikes in Queensland over the past 15 years.
There are also about 200 quad bike-related ambulance attendances, 300 hospitalisations and 600 emergency department presentations every year.
