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Wally Hidalgo, then 21, was unloading a crate of glass from a truck at a Dandenong warehouse when it fell on him in July 2006, the Victorian County Court heard today.

Mr Hidalgo is now in a persistent vegetative state.

The labour hire company Mr Hidalgo worked for is charged with three counts of failing to provide and maintain for its employees a working environment that is safe.

The company was formerly known as Black and White Recruitment Solutions but is now in liquidation.

It is alleged the company failed to provide proper training and failed to provide proper supervision.

Prosecutor Kevin Armstrong told the court Mr Hidalgo, a student who was a casual worker at the company, drove the forklift through the warehouse, then stopped and got off.

As he apparently tried to manipulate the crate by himself, it fell on him, Mr Armstrong said.

No one saw the incident and it took eight minutes before Mr Hidalgo was found, the court heard.

"Mr Hidalgo had not been properly trained and did not have the necessary certificate," Mr Armstrong said.

A piece of equipment worth $1000 called a jib and chain would have made the moving of the 1.5m-high crate safer, the court heard.

Black and White Recruitment Solutions, which in liquidation is known as ACN 094 786 071 Pty Ltd, is not represented in court.

The incident took place at the warehouse of a company known as Asixa Pty Ltd.

The trial before Judge Gabriele Cannon continues tomorrow.