BHP's legal strategy backfired spectacularly. After years of suppressing evidence in a lawsuit brought by injured coal miner Simon Turner, the company's own tactics inadvertently exposed the truth. When Turner submitted bank statements and payslips to prove financial hardship for appeal fees, the documents revealed what BHP fought to hide: Chandler MacLeod, not Ready Workforce, was his true employer. Two years of weekly payslips, superannuation records, and separation certificates now sit filed with the Federal Court, contradicting BHP's core defense. The irony is stark. BHP and its legal team from Minter Ellison spent eight years keeping this evidence suppressed, only to have it emerge through the court's own hardship application process.
