Death at Kellogg's (From Stains on a White Collar: Fourteen Studies in Corporate Crime or Corporate Harm, P 175-190, 1989, Peter Grabosky and Adam Sutton, eds. -- See NCJ-122651)

• NCJ Number: 122662
• Author(s): A Hopkins
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Federation Press (Distributed by Gaunt)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

The government's response to an industrial accident that killed a worker at an Australian food processing plant in 1983 raises questions about the adequacy of current laws regarding occupational safety and health.

Abstract

The 16-year-old worker was killed by a burst of steam in the pressure cooker in which he was working. Subsequent investigations revealed health and safety violations and led to prosecutions, a guilty plea by the company, and fines totaling $2,750. In imposing these fines the magistrate cited the company's prior good record and its corrective measures following the accident. However, the company could logically have also been charged with manslaughter. The new Occupational Health and Safety Act in New South Wales makes future prosecutions for failure to ensure a worker's safety more likely, but the failure to secure some form of retribution for the worker's death in this case will result in the public's continued perception that the nation has one law for the rich and another for the poor. 12 reference notes.