Published: 20 February 2017
On Friday, a man in his late 30s died when his quad bike overturned on a property at Reedy Flat, near Ensay, in east Gippsland. It has not yet been determined if the property is a workplace or a hobby farm.
On Saturday, a worker in his early 50s was crushed by a load of steel which fell from a forklift at a scrap metal yard at Foster in South Gippsland.
Yesterday, a painter in his late 60s suffered critical head injuries after falling four metres at a construction site at Merricks North on the Mornington Peninsula.
The three incidents are being investigated by WorkSafe.
WorkSafe’s Executive Director of Health and Safety, Marnie Williams, described each incident as horrifying.
"It is a tragedy that three men didn’t make it home safely at the end of the day," Ms Williams said.
Ms Williams said agriculture and construction were high-risk industries so safety had to be a priority.
"Quad bikes are involved in many fatalities in agriculture while falls from heights kill and injure far too many workers in the construction sector," Ms Williams said. “Forklifts are involved in many injuries and fatalities across a wide variety of industries.
"These are all well-known risks, which is why it is unacceptable that people continue to die and be injured using these types of machinery or undertaking these types of tasks."
Ms Williams said it was critical that appropriate systems were in place to ensure such risks were reduced or eliminated.
"The events of the weekend tragically highlight why safety must always be a priority," she said.