An elderly man who died while operating a bulldozer two years ago was working for his son’s business “for his own enjoyment” at the time of the fatal accident, a coroner has found.
Maxwell Jones, 85, passed away on March 21, 2022, from head and neck injuries sustained while constructing a track for a client of Tony Jones Repairs, the business owned by his son.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart said the dozer rolled approximately 80 metres down a gully near Campania where Jones was working before coming to a stop on its side.
“Jones was found inside the cabin of the dozer … [and] appeared to have suffered wounds to his back, had swelling on his face and had what appeared to be a badly broken arm,” McTaggart said.
The coroner questioned whether Jones was wearing a safety helmet and said he was not wearing a seatbelt, as the machine was not equipped with one.
Weather conditions, drugs and alcohol were ruled out as contributing factors in the accident.
McTaggart said it was likely that Jones operated the dozer too close to the edge of his track when trying to dislodge a rock, causing it to overturn.
“Mr Jones was a competent operator of the dozer … It is possible that [his] age may have been a factor in his manoeuvring of the dozer … but I cannot make a positive finding to this effect,” she said.
In her findings, McTaggart criticised Tony Jones for failing to provide his father with a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), which is required for high-risk construction work under health and safety laws.
“He did not consider that he should be categorised as an employee or contractor and therefore allowed him to work completely autonomously,” she said.
“Mr Jones was not subject to any policies or procedures imposed by the business.”
McTaggart said it was impossible to say whether Jones’ death could have been prevented with better safety measures.
