Pipecon worker spoke 'lucidly' with paramedics during rescue attempt

Duirng a Coroner's Court hearing on April 16, 2024, lawyer Tim Tobin said the Brownlee family wanted there to be further inquiry into the method used to free their son prior to his death.

Mr Brownlee and Charles Howkins, 34, died in a trench collapse while working at a Pipecon construction site in Winter Valley in 2018.

Pipecon, which is a Ballarat based builder, was fined $550,000 after later pleading guilty to safety negligence in relation to the incident.

At Tuesday's hearing, coroner Leveasque Peterson said after examination of expert reports, legal representatives for the Country Fire Authority [CFA] and Ambulance Victoria had made written submissions which argued an inquest was no longer warranted.

Acting on behalf of the Brownlee family, Mr Tobin said an inquiry should go ahead, as there were still questions to be answered about the method used to free Mr Brownlee, and whether an excavator bucket had dug too close to the 21-year-old.

"One of the great risks of construction are trench collapses, if there are collapses which cause people to suffer fatal injuries, we say there should be an inquiry," he said.

"It is a great concern to the family where they know their son was talking lucidly to ambulance officers before a particular [excavator] bucket movement, and then after his condition quickly deteriorated."

Mr Tobin said while they were not disputing that the trench collapse had killed Mr Brownlee, it should be investigated whether rescue operations contributed to the 21-year-old's death by increasing the weight of soil on him.

"Unfortunately in trench collapses the method of recovery or rescue is very important to inform people what they should be doing," he said.

"We say it's very important, and that should be teased out by way of further evidence."

This inquiry was also supported by Mr Howkins' family, who were described by their lawyer as having a "keen interest" in seeing the court investigate the two deaths.

But, lawyer representing CFA, Naomi Hodgson, said the excavator was used in a "raking" rather than digging motion when operated near to Mr Brownlee.

She also said any inquiry was not an opportunity to examine the best methods of trench rescue, and counsel should be "careful" about making arguments that Mr Brownlee's injuries were exacerbated by works to free him.

"I just heard Mr Tobin say he [Mr Brownlee] was talking until a particular movement of a bucket and then not afterwards," she said.

"I'm not sure what that relates to, it's not something I'm aware of, I've not had the opportunity to review it, but it's not consistent with the evidence as I know it."

Continuing the inquiry was also opposed in written submissions by Ambulance Victoria, and by lawyers representing Pipecon and WorkSafe.

A lawyer for the United Firefighters Union said they were "generally supportive" of the families, and there would be use in an inquiry going ahead.

An inquest into the incident had been set for the Coroner's Court in June, but after hearing arguments from all parties, Ms Peterson vacated the future hearing dates.

She said there was a "lack of clarity" about the concerns raised by the Brownlee family's legal team, and gave them one week to provide further written submissions.

After these are submitted, Ms Peterson said all other parties had a further two weeks to respond.

No date for a subsequent hearing was set.