Fruit grower charged over coolroom death

By Monique Preston

Dec 20, 2024

A fruit grower has been charged by WorkSafe following the death of a man at a Shepparton warehouse. Photo by Getty Images

A fruit grower has been charged by WorkSafe following the death of a truck driver at a Shepparton warehouse in March last year.

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The 50-year-old man was found unresponsive in a low-oxygenated coolroom being used to preserve apples, after his vehicle was spotted outside unattended with the engine running.

GVIP Storage Pty Ltd faces two charges under section 26(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure a workplace under its management or control was safe and without risks to health.

WorkSafe alleges the company failed to reduce the risk of serious injury or death by prohibiting entry to coolrooms operating with a controlled atmosphere and by having clear and prominent warning signage.

The charges were only laid on December 11.

A filing hearing for GVIP Storage Pty Ltd was heard in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 20.

No pleas have been entered to either of the charges.

The matter will next return to court in March.