Factory worker’s scalp ‘ripped from head’

South Australian based Nippy’s Waikerie Producers Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws over the significant injuries suffered by the then 18-year-old employee.

The young woman had been working on November 12, 2020 in the orange packing shed at the Waikerie facility of the South Australian-based drink manufacturing company.

During her shift, she had entered an area of a machine that washes, grades and sorts oranges as they moved along a lengthy conveyor belt and series of rollers in the factory.

She was tasked with entering a section of the conveyor belt to clean a blockage and retrieve fruit that had fallen from the conveyor belt.

Two moving chains were operating in the same area of the worker – one at ankle height, which had a safety guard over it, and the other at head height.

The SA Employment Tribunal was informed the young woman and other workers had fixed the blockage before without incident and the machine was not turned off at the time.

In the judgment published online, SA Employment Tribunal deputy president Katherine Eaton said the lack of a safety guard on the moving chain at head height “defies logic”.

“Shortly after lunch, her hair was caught in unguarded machinery and her entire scalp was ripped from her head,” Ms Eaton said.

“Despite the best efforts of the first responders and medical teams at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, attempts to reattach her scalp were only partially successful.

“In an instant, her young and hopeful life flipped into shock, trauma, ongoing pain and disfigurement.”

Ms Eaton said despite there never being any intention for the worker to be “so appallingly damaged”, the risk of injury “had actually been foreseen”.

Nippy’s confirmed to the tribunal that a safety review of the machinery in 2013 had been carried out.

The safety review had raised concerns of “extreme consequence” of injury if hands or hair were caught in the moving chains.

“Despite this, not even the simple measure of placing a guard over that section of the machinery had been undertaken,” Ms Eaton said.

“That workers were required as part of their duties to enter that area while the elevator conveyor was operating is inexplicable.”

No signs were put in place to alert workers to the potential risk.

Nippy’s has since spent more than $60,000 to upgrade the safety procedures around the machinery.

The company also offered to pay the worker and her family $60,000 to help with her ongoing recovery.

The young woman continues to undergo multiple surgeries.

The tribunal was given her victim impact statement, which outlined the horrifying moment.

“She remained conscious from the moment of her injury,” Ms Eaton said in her judgment.

“She endured not only the pain and shock of her physical injury but the terror of looking up and seeing her hair and scalp hanging from the machine in front of her.

“She thought she was going to die. “

Two Nippy’s directors also read apologies to the woman and her family during the tribunal proceedings.

While she welcomed the “heartfelt and genuine” apologies, Ms Eaton said more had to be done to protect young workers.

“It should go without saying that employers need to take special care to train their young employees about the particular risks that they must look out for in their workplace,” she said.

“Unfortunately, this court is repeatedly tasked with sentencing employers for breaches of their health and safety obligations that have resulted in young workers being seriously injured or killed.”

The company was convicted and fined $120,000 and ordered to pay courts fees.

Originally published as Nippy’s Waikerie Producers worker scalped during workplace incident