Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Open Finding
by Coroner
MAFFRA, Thursday.— An open finding was returned by the coroner, Mr. Cuthil), S.M., at the resumed inquest; into the death of Bruce Fitchett McNaughton, 35, of Sale, who  received fatal injuries while operating a front-end loader at a gravel pit at Tinamba on January 19.

Stanley Edwin Davis, plant operator of Maffra, said that at 1.45 p.m. on January 19 he was driving a crawler tractor front end loader at Sintery Pit near Tinamba.  He alighted from that machine to allow Bruce McNaughton to take over. The loader had its shovel full of gravel and was ready for the next truck. He went around to get into the truck he had  just loaded. Witness said he, had just moved the truck when he heard the bucket crash to the ground. He jumped out of the truck and ran round the side to see deceased caught  between the right arm of the loader and the chassis. The arm was across the lower portion of his back of his right leg. The deceased's left hand was grasping the control lever  pushing it hard back on the lift position. This would cause it to life if the clutch was engaged. He removed deceased's hand from the lever, engaged the controls and lifted the  bucket. Deceased was lifted off the machine and made comfortable. He said it was his day on the machine after being given instructions by Jack Legge and Bruce McNaughton. Legge had told him to be caretul getting on and off the machine. He took it that the bucket should be left on the ground when full and when they were getting off the machine. He told Mr Rogers that he did not see deceased get on the machine at all. He was rolling a cigarette when he walked towards the truck. At Sale on the Monday morning the arms  were in the raised position. Bruce McNaughton was getting on from the right side and Jack Legge said "Don't get on that side, you are liable to get hurt." McNaughton laughed and said "I have lone it hundreds of times." Witness could not remember if the clutch was engaged or not. He should have left it engaged. It appeared from when he engaged it after  the accident that it took some time because the cable was unwound. This could have been caused by the bucket unwinding.
He told Mr Cuthill that the lever would have to be knocked about eight inches before it released the bucket. It would take a pressue of 25 to 30 lbs. to do it. To one of the jury  witness said that the biucket was left in the raised position because McNaughton told him to go to dinner and that he would carry on. John W. Legge, contractor, of Sale, told the  inquiry that McNaughton had been employed for six years and was a competent plant operator. He had spoken to McNaughton on Monday morning after he got on the wrong side of the loader. It occurred to him that an accident was possible. When the lever was on the correct position it would remain there indefinitely. It had to be moved to lower the  bucket. It was not until after the accident that he knew that any authority had control of this machine or others of its type. He had never known the brakes to fail. Constable T. H. Meehan said that he, had made an inspection and had taken photos at the scene of the accident. The jury found that the deceased had met, his death when the arm of the front 
end loader had crushed him. The loader had been retetsed when he carelessly entered it from the wrong side during the course of his employment.