A Victorian meat processing plant has been fined $400,000 over the death of an experienced stockman who was trampled at work.
Patrick Smith was drafting and weighing the company's cattle on a property at Dunkeld in December 2017 before being found dead in an enclosed yard.
Mr Smith was working alone when it's suspected he was attacked by a highly agitated stag - a late or improperly castrated bull.
Midfield Meats was found guilty by a jury of failing to provide a safe workplace by not having systems in place to ensure another person was present in the case of an emergency.
The fine comes a year after Mr Smith's wife Kellie and their three children filed a lawsuit in Victoria's Supreme Court alleging his Warrnambool-based employer failed to create a safe workplace.
They say the company knew the stag that killed Mr Smith was aggressive. The more than 600 kilogram animal was still trying to break through a fence when help arrived and was destroyed.
They've claimed Midfield Meats failed to make sure the stag was moved from the mob and to ensure the yards Mr Smith was working in were suitable for that mob.
Mr Smith, who had worked for the company as a livestock buyer since 1991, was also left without an adequate escape route, they claim.
The family is seeking damages for psychological injury, loss and damage.
WorkSafe health and safety director Narelle Beer said being crushed or trampled by cattle was the second most common cause of Victorian farm deaths.
"This incident is a tragic example of the dangers face by those working in agriculture and why employers and workers always need to be thinking about safety first," she said.
