Company's fine doubled to $3 million for workplace manslaughter

The fine handed down to the first company prosecuted under Victoria's workplace manslaughter laws has been more than doubled on appeal.

LH Holding Management Pty Ltd was in February 2024 fined $1.3 million over the death of Michael Tsahrelias, who was fatally crushed under a forklift in October 2021.

But the Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the sentence, claiming it was manifestly inadequate because the company's conduct was highly negligent.

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Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Phillip Priest and Stephen McLeish agreed, and today re-sentenced LH Holding Management to a $3 million fine.

"We are satisfied that the fine imposed by the sentencing judge is manifestly inadequate," the judgment read.

"The fine imposed fails to reflect the objective seriousness of the offence ... and fails to reflect the need for general deterrence."

The court accepted the fine would be "ruinous" for the company but said it was important to send a message to the community.

"We are not unmindful of the fact that, in all probability, it will remain unpaid," the judgment read.

"It is necessary, however, that the level of the fine imposed fulfil the aims of general deterrence."

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Prosecutors also appealed the two-year community corrections order given to the company's sole director Laith Hanna, who was also operating the forklift that crushed Tsahrelias.

Hanna had been driving the forklift carrying a loaded metal A-frame rack when - against safety standards - he turned the machinery on a downhill slope.

Tsahrelias tried to steady the load, which was suspended about two metres above the ground, but the forklift lost balance and tipped over, crushing him.

Hanna was among those who attempted to revive Tsahrelias but the 25-year-old died at the scene.

The DPP argued the corrections order, with 200 hours of unpaid community work, was also manifestly inadequate because it did not properly reflect the gravity of the offending.

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The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that while the penalty was lenient, it was open to the sentencing judge.

Justice James Gorton agreed Hanna's sentence should stand but he disagreed with the other judges that LH Holding Management's fine should be increased.

He found the $1.3 million fine was adequate when considering both the seriousness of the offence and the company's circumstances.

As the majority of the court held the view the fine should be increased, the company was re-sentenced today.

LH Holding Management and Hanna were the first workplace manslaughter prosecutions in Victoria since the laws were introduced in 2020.