Taxi company fined following deaths of two passengers in wheelchairs

A Victorian taxi company has been fined over the separate 2021 deaths of two passengers who used wheelchairs.

The Echuca Moama Taxi Group (EMTG) was sentenced today in the County Court of Victoria after pleading guilty in April to breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

EMTG admitted wheelchair-using passengers could be exposed to a risk of death or serious injury if the wheelchair tie-down and occupant restraint system was not properly secured.

The prosecution arose from the death of 63-year-old Christine Looney, whose wheelchair, which was not properly secured, tipped backwards during a routine trip in Echuca in February 2021.

Ms Looney became trapped after the taxi accelerated from an intersection.

Despite efforts by the driver, bystanders and emergency services, she died after her airway was obstructed by the position of her head.

Four months later 75-year-old John Phyland was seriously injured in a similar incident during a trip home from dialysis treatment.

He suffered a fractured sternum and died a week later from complications.

Mr Phyland's death was not the subject of the charge, but Judge Justin Lewis said it was relevant to understanding the risks posed when wheelchair restraints were not correctly fitted.

The court heard wheelchair-accessible taxi drivers were required to secure passengers using a Wheelchair Tie-Down and Occupant Restraint System.

Australian Standards specify how the restraints should be fitted.

EMTG admitted it failed to provide adequate ongoing refresher training and assessment to ensure drivers remained competent in correctly securing passengers who used wheelchairs.

Following Ms Looney's death, WorkSafe issued a prohibition notice preventing the taxi involved from operating until it was certified safe.

The court heard the company subsequently introduced refresher training for drivers, updated its daily vehicle checklists and arranged further product familiarisation training on correctly securing wheelchair restraints.

Judge Lewis accepted the company had systems in place to transport wheelchair-using passengers safely and said there was no indication it had acted in a "cavalier" manner.

However, he said refresher training was an "obvious" and low-cost measure that could have reduced the risk of serious injury or death.

"The need for refresher training is of fairly obvious significance," Judge Lewis said.

He described the case as complex, noting failures involving wheelchair restraints were relatively rare but the consequences when they occurred could be catastrophic.

"Both incidents illustrate what can occur, even at low speed, when errors are made in securing wheelchair passengers," Judge Lewis said.

He said the company's guilty plea demonstrated responsibility and remorse and should be treated as an early plea because of the complexity of the case.

Judge Lewis said the sentence needed to send a message to employers about the importance of meeting health and safety obligations, particularly where vulnerable members of the public were at risk.

Echuca Moama Taxi Group was fined $133,828.

Without the "early" plea, Judge Lewis said he could have imposed a fine of $190,000.