A Yarra Valley caravan park has been convicted and fined $475,000 after a camper died from fatal injuries caused by a falling tree branch, yet the court didn’t find the managing company guilty of the death.
On 22 November, the Melbourne County Court sentenced the safety breach case which led to the death of Benjamin Murphy at Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park in 2021.
On or about 13 March 2021, a large tree branch or tree limb broke from a tree and landed on Mr Murphy as he slept in his tent at campsite 93, and he died from his injuries.
Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park was charged with the death.
An earlier decision by a jury found the park guilty of a single charge of failing to ensure the workplace was safe and without risks to health.
“[The holiday park] at Healesville in Victoria on or about the 13th day of March 2021, being a person who had, to any extent, the management or control of the workplace failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace was safe and without risks to health,” the indictment reads.
“There was a risk that a large tree branch or tree limb (or both) could break from the tree and fall to the ground below. If a person or persons were underneath the tree at the time, they could be struck by the falling tree branch or tree limb resulting in serious injury or death.
“It was reasonably practicable for you to reduce the risk by engaging an arborist to undertake an annual assessment of the trees at the workplace and follow any recommendations made by the arborist.”
The court heard an inspection of 277 trees at the park conducted after Mr Murphy’s death identified 137 trees requiring risk mitigation works, including 85 requiring works within a year.
The park is approximately 70 acres.
A large number of trees, approximately 20 metres tall, were located in the unpowered area adjacent to Badger Creek including around campsites.
According to the prosecution’s opening statement, a tree inspection was performed shortly after the accused purchased the park in 2015.
It engaged Austree Contracting, which is a tree service outfit whose staff are trained in arboriculture, to perform a tree assessment.
“The 2015 assessment recommended action be taken for specific trees within the park. In respect to the trees requiring action, the report identified the tree type, specifications (measurements), risk level, recommended action, comments, a quote for the works and the date those works were completed,” the prosecution opening on plea reads.
“Following the 2015 assessment, the accused did not engage an arborist to perform a further assessment of all the trees at the park.
“Otherwise, the accused did not have a formal or documented system of work for routinely inspecting trees and their branches to identify the risk of trees or branches failing, nor a policy concerning the frequency with which an arborist should attend the park to perform inspections.”
In addition to the tree inspection, the caravan park also performed daily walk throughs where the employees walked around the park each day to look out for any possible issues.
“During the walk, the staff member would look out for anything obvious that may need addressing, including fallen or snapped branches. If issues were identified, the staff member would make a verbal report to the maintenance team or enter it into the park’s relationship management program,” the prosecution opening on plea reads.
“The daily walks were performed by, inter alia, Mr Richardson, Mr Boyd, head of operations, Darren Lake and the maintenance team.
“Richardson, Boyd and Lake were not qualified arborists, nor were the maintenance team.”
WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said regular tree inspections by qualified arborists were critical to managing the risk that someone could be seriously injured or killed by a falling tree or branch.
“Duty holders must do all they can to manage the risk of falling trees and branches, particularly in workplaces where people spend large amounts of time, such as camp sites,” Mr Jenkin said.
“This terrible incident, in which a man has lost his life during what should have been an enjoyable outdoor experience, demonstrates the heartbreaking cost of not proactively prioritising safety.”
The Melbourne County Court also issued an adverse publicity order requiring the company to publicise the offence, its consequences and the penalty imposed in an industry publication.
