A worker who suffered severe burns in a gin distillery fire has lost his court case against his former employer after a magistrate ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove safety failures.

According to ABC News, the Launceston Magistrates Court dismissed a workplace health and safety case against Adams Distillery on December 19, clearing the company of legal responsibility for the incident.

The case followed a fire at the Perth-based distillery in February 2021, in which worker Greg Longmore was seriously injured when ethanol ignited during gin production. The blaze left him with burns to about 40 per cent of his body, and he required lengthy hospital treatment.

Prosecutors argued that Adams Distillery failed to properly train and supervise Longmore, exposing him to serious risk while operating a gin still, according to The Herald Sun.
The distillery is co-owned by Adam Saunders and Adam Pinkard, who denied the allegations and told the court that Longmore had received structured training, including observation, instruction and supervised practice, before being allowed to work independently.

Magistrate Evan Hughes ruled that the prosecution had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that the company breached its safety duties. He accepted evidence that Longmore had been shown correct procedures and had carried out similar tasks under supervision prior to the incident, ABC News reported.

The court also heard that CCTV footage and witness testimony supported the company’s account of the training process. The magistrate noted that Longmore’s recollection of events may have been affected by the injuries he sustained in the fire.
Longmore’s legal team argued that some training records were incomplete and that safety manuals did not clearly outline procedures. However, the court found the evidence was not strong enough to support a conviction.

As a result, the charge against Adams Distillery was dismissed, with no conviction recorded. A separate hearing has been scheduled for January 2026 to deal with the issue of court costs, according to The Herald Sun.

The case has drawn attention to workplace safety in small manufacturing businesses, particularly those handling flammable substances such as ethanol, which pose serious fire risks if not carefully managed.

Adams Distillery, known for its craft gin and whisky, defended its safety practices throughout the proceedings but has not issued a public statement following the ruling, ABC News said.