Welshpool business RPC Surface Treatment Pty Ltd fined nearly $1m over teen’s horrific workplace death

A Welshpool business has been fined almost $1 million over the death of a teenage worker, the highest ever penalty handed down under WA’s work health and safety laws. RPC Surface Treatment Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with its health and safety duty, which caused death or serious harm to a worker, after the June 2023 tragedy. The 16-year-old boy died from crush injuries after a steel beam he was pushing, weighing about 425kg, fell from an overhead monorail system onto his chest. The Railway Parade company was fined $975,000 in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday, plus costs of $3,348.50.