Queensland woman’s message on violence in the workplace

At 18, Caitlin Agius knew that entering a male dominated workplace would be a challenge but she never expected a career as a diesel mechanic would mean feeling unsafe at work or suffering a terrible injury allegedly caused by a negligent co-worker.

While completing her apprenticeship in October 2019, a colleague sprayed her foot with 155C hot water from a high-pressure gurney, causing her steel cap boot to break, allowing water to penetrate the shoe, burning and peeling the skin off her right foot.

“He was washing the bus in the washbay. He pointed the gurney wand at my foot and blasted me with water. It burned through my boot into my foot. I saw the skin had peeled off when I took my sock off in the workshop. The first aid person applied burn-aid cream. I was offered no iced water or cold water which is what you are meant to do to treat a burn,” she said.

No one in her workplace phoned an ambulance for treatment or phoned her parents to let them know what had happened. Instead, Caitlin sat in the lunchroom for three hours until they decided to allow another apprentice to take her to the hospital.

“I had it bandaged in hospital and returned to work on Monday, still in shock about what had happened. The hospital didn’t give me medication to prevent infection. I felt faint and returned to hospital where I was told I had a Silver Staph infection. A plastic surgeon warned me that I could lose my toe. The surgeon removed the infected tissue and I was able to keep my toe thankfully. Days later, I was back in surgery and underwent a skin graft where skin from my leg was grafted onto my foot,” Ms Agius said.

While recovering in hospital for weeks, Ms Agius said she felt down and her parents were horrified that a fellow staff member had caused her so much pain.

“You hear about workplace accidents and you think yep that injury has happened from someone’s stupidity and lack of care. But someone else did this to me. Burning someone with hot water on purpose is just something you would never think about doing to another person. We were just so angry at him. We didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t until later that we realised we could have brought charges against him,” Ms Agius said.

Her message to other young workers is not to put up with violence in the workplace. Hold your employer to account by contacting your union and the police, and investigate your legal rights.

“The workplace and business owners have a responsibility to prevent incidents like this from happening. Employers have a big role to play in managing the behaviour of their staff. Just because we are women doesn’t mean you have to treat us differently; just let us do what you do and get on with our jobs,” she said.

“I didn’t want to get lawyers involved because I wanted to finish my apprenticeship. Because my manager at the time was friends with the person who injured me, it made staying in that workplace really difficult. I’m going down this path to recover my lost wages and medical costs, and to address the pain and suffering I’ve experienced.”

Slater and Gordon Workers’ Compensation Legal Counsel Juliet Parsons, who is representing Caitlin in a workers’ compensation negligence claim filed against the Toowoomba workplace in the Queensland District Court, said Caitlin had been let down terribly by her workplace and those working there.

“Caitlin’s employer caused and allowed her to be exposed to a risk of injury. They failed to provide and maintain a safe system of work, and failed to provide training to staff to ensure the gurney was not pointed at other employees,” she said.

“They could have provided better training, and could have fit the hose with a lockout device that capped the water temperate at 75C.”

Ms Parsons said Caitlin now suffered permanent scarring, ongoing pain, as well as a psychological condition following the traumatic experience.

“It’s unfair that a young, enthusiastic person like Caitlin had to experience such poor treatment. Caitlin has shown great resilience in changing jobs and career paths after such a major setback, especially after being unable to complete her apprenticeship in her chosen career,” Ms Parsons said.

“Violence and aggressive behaviour in the workplace doesn’t just cause injuries, it can result in lives being lost. Every workplace should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to behaviour like this. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and workplaces have a duty of care to protect their staff and ensure they are free from physical and psychological injuries.”