The recent District Court decision of Smith v BHP Billiton
Ltd [2012] WADC 21 (BHP) concerned a
contractor's employee who had, entirely on his own initiative,
stood on a stack of tyres to clean a road sign and injured himself.
He subsequently sued the mine owner alleging breach of its duty of
care to provide a safe system of work. The decision turns on its
own facts, but does provide a good illustration of the following
principles:
1. A mine owner is generally required, so far as is reasonably
practicable, to provide and maintain a working environment in which
persons, such as a contractor's employee, are not exposed to
hazards.
2. Whether a mine owner owes a duty of care to a
contractor's employee depends on the mine owner's
activities, the extent to which it remains in control and
occupation of the mine and the relationship between the mine owner
and the contractor as stipulated in any contract.
