The parents of a young tradie who was crushed to death when scaffolding collapsed have made a desperate plea for law changes to ensure there is no repeat of what happened to their son.
Christopher Cassaniti, 18, died in April 2019 when 18 tonnes of construction materials fell on him and a colleague while he was working at the Ganellen construction site in Sydney’s Macquarie Park.
The structure could support 17,905 kg, but was only designed for a load capacity of 675 kg, meaning it could carry almost 30 times more than the maximum limit.
Christopher Cassaniti, 18, died in April 2019 when 18 tonnes of construction materials fell on him and a colleague while he was working at the Ganellen construction site in Sydney’s Macquarie Park
Christopher had skipped his lunch break and was working with his colleague Khaled Wehbe, 39, when a scaffolding 30 meters above them collapsed.
Christopher had skipped his lunch break and was working with his colleague Khaled Wehbe, 39, when a scaffolding 30 meters above them collapsed.
Mr Wehbe was seriously injured in the horrific collapse, but held Christopher’s hand and listened as he called for help and asked for his mother. The boy died twenty minutes later.
Ganellen was warned several times that his location was dangerous.
“The likelihood of the risk occurring was so great that it was virtually certain,” Judge Andrew Scotting said in court.
Sydney company Synergy Scaffolding was handed NSW’s largest ever workplace health and safety fine, totaling $2 million, after pleading guilty to a Category 1 offense under NSW workplace safety laws.
Christopher’s parents, Patrizia and Rob, said the $2 million fine was nothing for a major company and paled in comparison to their losses.
Ganellen Construction was fined $900,000, but because insurance covered the fine, it lost no money.
The company’s contractor license was revoked by NSW Fair Trading and the company was permanently banned from operation.
The company’s director was also given a ten-year disqualification.
Now NSW is about to introduce industrial manslaughter laws and the Cassanitis are among the loudest advocates for the change.
The NSW government plans to introduce a bill to parliament in the first half of next year, but has left the door open for further consultation.
The Cassanitis told it 7News they want to be sure that the new laws go far enough to prevent anyone from suffering the fate of their son four years ago.
The Cassanitis have been outspoken advocates for workers’ rights since the tragic death of their son
“Consequences, we need consequences to stop people from engaging in unsafe practices,” Patrizia Cassaniti said.
“We don’t want his death to be in vain,” Rob Cassaniti added.
“It will make them change and think twice about endangering human lives,” he said.
The Cassanitis have been outspoken advocates for workers’ rights since the tragic death of their son.
They regularly attend seminars on workplace health and safety, armed with a traditional teddy bear containing Christopher’s ashes and the clothes he wore that day.
Mr and Mrs Cassaniti have called on NSW to introduce industrial manslaughter laws that would allow individuals to be prosecuted for workplace deaths and increase maximum sentences.