Mt Pleasant brick wall collapse: Company pleads guilty to safety breach

Horsham Back-Hoe Hire director Simon Rigby, 56, was crushed when a brick wall collapsed onto him during demolition work at the Kenworthy Place property on September 11, 2019.

Mr Rigby's wife, Leeanne Rigby, was also the director of the family-operated business and she represented the company at a Ballarat Magistrates' Court hearing on Friday.

Horsham Back-Hoe Hire pleaded guilty to failing to establish and maintain an exclusion zone around the live demolition areas and applied to keep the case in the lower court.

Workcover Victoria prosecutor Amelia Beech said the Department of Health and Human Services owned the Kenworthy Place property which had been badly damaged by fire and was due to be demolished.

She said Mr Rigby had been operating an excavator to push the roof over the front porch area and onto the front lawn.

He exited the excavator to help another worker sort and itemise materials into different piles and walked to the front of the building.

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Ms Beech said a Victoria Police first responder had viewed CCTV footage which depicted Mr Rigby pushing over a timber support structure which had been erected to support the front brick wall of the premises.

She said the brick wall consisting of about six rows of bricks fell forward and crushed Mr Rigby.

The other worker heard the wall collapse and found Mr Rigby buried underneath. Emergency services workers immediately responded followed by Worksafe inspectors.

A crime scene officer described seeing temporary fencing and a sign indicating danger and demolition work in progress at the worksite.

Ms Beech said a Worksafe inspector requested to see a safe work method statement (SWMS) and other documentation relevant to the demolition works from Horsham Back-Hoe Hire and the DHHS.

"The relevant risks were identified on the demolition procedure checklist and yet no action was taken to address those risks and the SWMS implemented was inadequate," Ms Beech said.

An experienced Worksafe engineer said in a report free standing masonry walls were inherently unstable and a risk of collapse, which was well known.

He said the hazards, risks and associated risk controls in relation to the Kenworthy Place demolition site should have been identified and described in the SWMS as required by the regulations.

"He notes the SWMS in place was inadequate because it did not identify the hazards and risks to the employees from the unsupported or partially demolished masonry walls and did not identify or describe the measures to control these risks," Ms Beech said.

"The substance of the allegation and the plea really relates to the risk that was created by the failure to maintain and establish an exclusion zone."

Horsham Back-Hoe Hire faces a fine of up to $413,050.

Defence barrister Eliza Holt said Horsham Back-Hoe Hire was a family-operated company run by Mr and Mrs Rigby and their children.

She said the company was financially viable and would continue operating.

Ms Holt said immediately after the incident, the company undertook remedial work which included control measures and the use of exclusion zones around its demolition worksites.

Magistrate Ron Saines said he agreed with the prosecution that the factual circumstances around the incident were simple and could be dealt with in the lower court.

He said the company had pleaded guilty and the maximum penalty available to the Magistrates' Court was within range.

Mr Saines granted the defence application, which the prosecution did not oppose, to keep the matter in the Magistrates' Court.

Mrs Rigby and one of her children joined a audio visual link to view the hearing on Friday.

A plea hearing will be held on June 18.

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