The father of an 18-year-old girl, whose scalp was completely ripped off with a machine at Nippy’s juice factory, breaks the family’s silence
- Alexandra Trandafil is ‘disfigured’ in her first job
- Nippy’s fined $120,000 for security violation
The father of an 18-year-old girl whose scalp was ripped off by a machine at Nippy’s juice factory has broken her silence after the company admitted she was at fault.
Alexandra Trandafil, 18, was working as a hairdresser when her hair became entangled in a machine at Nippy’s Waikerie packing and processing plant in South Australia in November 2020.
Ms Trandafil’s traumatized coworkers called an ambulance and she was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Paramedics had to retrieve his scalp from the machine, but only part of it could be reattached during emergency surgery.
Alex Trandafil, 18, was working his first job when his hair became entangled in a machine at Nippy’s Waikerie Packing and Processing Plant in 2020
His father, Darrin Trandafil, said he was relieved that Nippy had pleaded guilty.
“(We are) grateful that they pleaded guilty and that she was not wrong in any way,” he said. Advertiser.
“We are vindicated that Alex committed no crime in the incident.”
Three years later, Ms. Trandafil still requires treatment, which will continue, and suffered permanent hair loss and scar tissue.
The court heard that factory managers called Ms Trandafil’s family, apologized and offered $60,000 in “reparation” and for the cost of travel to Adelaide for treatment.
Nippy’s Waikerie Producers Pty Ltd was fined $120,000, despite pleading guilty to one count of breach of duty for health and safety.
“She endured not only the pain and shock of her physical injury, but also the terror of looking up and seeing her hair and scalp dangling from the machine in front of her,” Ms Eaton wrote.
The company was warned about the risks to workers of similar equipment seven years before the accident.
While the warning did not refer to the same piece of machinery that injured Ms Trandafil, the risks were “exactly the same”, the court said.
Ms Trandafil requires ongoing treatment and suffered permanent hair loss and scar tissue from the ‘preventable’ accident
“She thought she was going to die,” Katherine Eaton, vice president of the SA Employment Tribunal, wrote in her finding.
‘…In an instant, her hopeful young life was transformed into shock, trauma, ongoing pain and disfigurement.’
It was the teenager’s first full-time job, taken on a sabbatical to save money for a trip abroad.
“Despite the best efforts of the first aid teams and doctors at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, attempts to reattach his scalp were only partially successful,” the ruling said.
Nippy’s was warned about the risks to workers seven years before the accident and was fined $120,000 after Ms Trandafil’s hair became entangled in an ‘unguarded machine’
Paramedics had to retrieve his scalp from the machine, but only part of it could be reattached during emergency surgery. Pictured: Nippy’s Waikerie packing and processing plant in South Australia
Nippy’s immediately made safety improvements to the factory and machinery.
But the court found that the injury was preventable and that Nippy’s failed to maintain a safe work environment and did not have signs warning of potential hazards.
Nippy’s also did not provide training to Ms. Trandafil on the risks of working next to the conveyor belt.
The company was also ordered to pay legal costs.
