A structural engineer being sentenced over a concrete slab collapse in Civic had no responsibility for the fatal flaw which brought tonnes of rubble crashing down, a court has heard.
Local engineer John Milton Morgan, 66, was working on a retainer for formwork company K-Form Structural Systems at the time of the incident in October 2008. Now Morgan and K-Form are being sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to failing to comply with a safety duty at the Civic site.
The site's foreman, Greg Mohammed, walked out of court earlier this week with a non-conviction order after the Crown agreed his role was that of a ''small fish in a big pond''.
Mr Morgan's barrister, Alister Henskens, SC, yesterday asked Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker to consider treating his client in the same fashion.
''My client Mr Morgan had no responsibility whatsoever for the primary cause of the collapse,'' the lawyer said.
The accident at the $200million City West Offices project occurred part way through a concrete pour at what was to be the ground floor.
The court heard the fundamental flaw which brought part of the structure down was poor support between ground level and the first basement.
And Mr Henskens said the crucial mistake was the decision, on the Friday before the cave-in, to swap formwork between the first and second basement levels for back propping. He argued it was a decision made by someone other than his client and without his client's knowledge.
The three defendants pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge at the start of what was to be a five-day hearing this week, and the prosecution is no longer alleging negligence. And Mr Morgan's guilty plea was based only on a failure to identify another issue at the site at an earlier date.
Ms Walker said she was troubled because ''on the information in front of me Mr Morgan had no obligation in relation to the back propping''.
The hearing continues.
.gif)
