<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fine handed down to the first company prosecuted under Victoria's workplace manslaughter laws has been more than doubled on appeal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>LH Holding Management Pty Ltd was in February 2024 fined $1.3 million over the death of Michael Tsahrelias, who was fatally crushed under a forklift in October 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the sentence, claiming it was manifestly inadequate because the company's conduct was highly negligent.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lucy-markovic-australias-next-top-model-star-dies-after-health-battle/c96551fe-06f2-4154-acee-894d592bd787" target="_blank"><strong><span>Top Australian model Lucy Markovic dies after health battle</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victorian Court of Appeal Justices Phillip Priest and Stephen McLeish agreed, and today re-sentenced LH Holding Management to a $3 million fine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are satisfied that the fine imposed by the sentencing judge is manifestly inadequate," the judgment read.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The fine imposed fails to reflect the objective seriousness of the offence ... and fails to reflect the need for general deterrence."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/company-fine-doubled-to-3m-for-workplace-manslaughter/2e54cd8c-c756-4506-b6d5-2c7ab638a1ef" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court accepted the fine would be "ruinous" for the company but said it was important to send a message to the community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are not unmindful of the fact that, in all probability, it will remain unpaid," the judgment read.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is necessary, however, that the level of the fine imposed fulfil the aims of general deterrence."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-waiting-for-chinese-president-to-call-over-tariffs/2301f5b7-d301-4d6c-b579-7c117f81ff68" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump is waiting for Xi to call him over tariffs dispute, but will he?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors also appealed the two-year community corrections order given to the company's sole director Laith Hanna, who was also operating the forklift that crushed Tsahrelias.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hanna had been driving the forklift carrying a loaded metal A-frame rack when - against safety standards - he turned the machinery on a downhill slope.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tsahrelias tried to steady the load, which was suspended about two metres above the ground, but the forklift lost balance and tipped over, crushing him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hanna was among those who attempted to revive Tsahrelias but the 25-year-old died at the scene.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The DPP argued the corrections order, with 200 hours of unpaid community work, was also manifestly inadequate because it did not properly reflect the gravity of the offending.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/andrew-tate-allegedly-pointed-gun-at-womans-head-uk-lawsuit/17f378ed-0029-440d-8f82-8543ff97e428" target="_blank"><strong><span>Andrew Tate threatened woman with gun, UK lawsuit alleges</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that while the penalty was lenient, it was open to the sentencing judge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice James Gorton agreed Hanna's sentence should stand but he disagreed with the other judges that LH Holding Management's fine should be increased.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He found the $1.3 million fine was adequate when considering both the seriousness of the offence and the company's circumstances.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As the majority of the court held the view the fine should be increased, the company was re-sentenced today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>LH Holding Management and Hanna were the first workplace manslaughter prosecutions in Victoria since the laws were introduced in 2020.</span></div></div>