A Darwin construction company has been found guilty of two charges by NT WorkSafe over the violent death of a worker at a remote construction site in the Northern Territory.

Paul Leach, 50, was fatally struck on March 20, 2020 when a chain snapped and snapped back as he tried to clear a stuck excavator in Maningrida, about 500 kilometres east of Darwin.

In the run-up to his death, the court heard that Mr Leach had twice attempted to pull the stuck excavator up using chains without permission.

NT WorkSafe initially charged Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd with corporate manslaughter over the incident – ​​the first prosecution of its kind in the area – but withdrew the charge last year.

On Friday in the Darwin District Court, Judge Ben O’Loughlin found Kalidonis NT guilty of two counts of failing to comply with a health and safety duty in connection with the death of Mr Leach.

He told the court there were two important elements to consider:

• Did the defendant fail, so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of employees?
• If so, did the failure expose individuals to a risk of death, serious injury or illness?

Lawyers representing Kalidonis NT had previously argued that Mr Leach had taken risks that put himself at risk and that his death was therefore not the company’s fault.

However, Judge O’Loughlin told the court: “That is not the case when we look back at 2020.”

He said the same chains used by Mr Leach broke when he tried to tow the excavator on February 15 and around March 11 or 12, before he died on March 20.

In his written judgment, Judge O’Loughlin indicated that the company had other methods available to it to eliminate or reduce the risks of an accident at the site.

“Steps could have been taken to remove the chain from the location,” he wrote.

“It would have been reasonable to warn staff that there would be serious consequences, including dismissal, if this happened again.”

He said Kalidonis NT “failed to provide adequate training to Mr Leach and other employees on towing,” nor did they provide adequate training on safe working practices.

“I find that the defendant’s breaches were a substantial or significant cause of the risk of serious injury or death to Mr. Leach and other employees,” Judge O’Loughlin wrote.

The case will return to court in Darwin in November, where a sentence will be determined.