Supplier receives $50,000 fine following battery pack explosion

An engineering company was convicted and fined $50,000 after a battery pack on a powered trailer it manufactured exploded, causing a worker to be thrown in the air, resulting in substantial injuries (WorkSafe Victoria v Berry Brothers Engineering Pty Ltd [2026]).

The company, Berry Brothers Engineering, constructed and supplied a trailer to a customer that used a hydraulic pump to lift ramps on the trailer, energised by a DC power pack. The battery and hydraulic pump were mounted on the side of the trailer, in a prefabricated metal toolbox.

On the day of the incident, two workers employed by the customer used the trailer to transport a front-end loader at a farm. To lift the loading ramps, one worker moved to the control box (mounted near to the battery and pump box), and when he pressed the up button, a large bang or explosion occurred. The worker was thrown into the air and landed, suffering multiple pelvic fractures, requiring the insertion of a plate, and the amputation of his right leg above the knee.

Berry Brothers was charged under section 29 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), which requires manufacturers to ensure that plant and equipment they supply is safe and without risks to health.

The company accepted that the metal storage box housing the battery did not have any, or adequate, ventilation. This defect created a risk that hydrogen and oxygen gas produced during normal battery operation and charging could form an explosive atmosphere around the battery.

The seriousness of the risk was substantial, as the risk that an explosion could occur was foreseeable and was likely to injure or kill a person in the vicinity.

In sentencing the company, the Court noted that the penalty would have been $95,000 had a plea of guilty and other subjective mitigating factors not been present in the matter.

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