Four spring fatalities a sober reminder for farm safety
WorkSafe has been notified of four fatalities on New Zealand farms in September. Continue →
Browsing: Injury
Farmers warned after fuel tank injury
Farmers are being warned that poorly maintained tripod tanks are a serious health and safety risk to fuel users
The safety alert from the Fuel Distributors Industry Safety Committee and WorkSafe New Zealand follows a recent incident where a fuel tanker driver was seriously injured on a farm where a tripod overhead tank collapsed while he was filling it. Continue →
Young worker’s career cut short by unsafe machinery
A company has been ordered to pay out over $250,000 after a worker lost three fingers and part of his palm as the result of a traumatic amputation in unguarded machinery, just seven weeks into his first job
In February 2018 the worker was operating a large finger-jointing machine when it became jammed. Continue →
Hellers pays $200K for worker’s lost fingers
Meat manufacturer Hellers Limited has been sentenced for health and safety failures at the Christchurch District Court this week after a worker lost four fingers in a machine used to process meat
During the March 2019 incident while cleaning the machine a worker reached in to clear meat from between a rotating paddle and the inside wall of the machine, when his fingers became caught. Continue →
$100K fine for powerline accident
Logging company Mike Harris Earthmoving Limited was fined $100,000 at the Rotorua District Court after a worker suffered burns from an electric shock that left them without full use of their right hand
Any business conducting work near live powerlines must consider the risk they pose as part of its safety planning, says WorkSafe. Continue →
Worker paralysed after fall awarded $400,000
Strings Attached Limited was ordered to pay over $400,000 in reparations and consequential loss to a worker who was paralysed in a four metre fall and will never walk again
In a reserved decision released last week, Strings Attached Limited was ordered to pay the victim following the incident in East Tamaki in November 2017. Continue →
Affco fined $46,000 for failing to control risks
Simply identifying health and safety risks is not enough, the New Zealand meat company has learned after a worker suffered a life-threatening infection following an incident at the company’s plant in Imlay
In June 2015 a worker was cleaning up an offal spill, when some raw material squirted into his eye. Continue →
Dangers of slopes results in fatality
A sentencing decision released this week which almost cost a company $450,000 is a reminder to all businesses working outdoors that things can go wrong, with tragic outcomes
Working on slopes is a daily challenge for many New Zealand businesses navigating undulating terrain. Continue →
Factory trawler fatality a lesson to us all
All machinery should work safely, even if staff do not comply with rules for safe operation, says the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) after a worker became trapped in still-working machinery that was behind safety guards
The accident occurred in the very early hours of 14 November 2018 on the fish processing line of the NZ-registered deep-sea factory trawler San Granit, while it was trawling about 102 km east of Banks Peninsula. Continue →
Injured migrant worker not aware of safe practices
Failure to clearly communicate health and safety responsibilities has seen a company fined $281,250 after a migrant worker was crushed by a trailer
When employing migrant workers it is vital to ensure they clearly understand health and safety risks and the measures in place to control them. Continue →
Gisborne fatality after cable snapped on Taiwanese operated ship
An able seaman on a ship loading logs was fatally injured when a cable snapped under too much tension and securing equipment recoiled, says the Transport Accident Investigation Commission in its Final Report on the accident
The accident occurred at Eastland Port, Gisborne, on the night of 3 April 2019. Continue →
Construction company sentenced after worker fell from man cage
None of the workers were trained in the use of height safety equipment, or supervised by a competent person, says WorkSafe’s Acting Chief Inspector Danielle Henry
The incident occurred in Kerikeri in April 2018 in which workers were using a man cage to work at a height while building an agricultural shed. Continue →
Child fatally injured on worksite
WorkSafe is reminding everyone that children are always at risk on worksites, after an unsupported stack of wood collapsed on a three-year-old
In March 2016 a three-year-old boy was visiting his father for lunch at a Timaru lumber yard. Continue →
Six tonne truck rolls onto trainee
A mechanics workshop has dodged a $400,000 fine after an untrained worker was crushed by the truck he was working on
It was the young worker’s second day on the job as a trainee and he had been left unsupervised at the time of the incident. Continue →
Fix that ‘accident waiting to happen’ before it’s too late
A company has been fined $270,937 after workers were injured by a gate with a known history of problems that had not been addressed
Dairy farming company, Otago Rural Management Limited was fined $270,937 at the Queenstown District Court yesterday after a worker was injured by a falling gate in June 2017. Continue →
DHB avoids prosecution for patient fall
WorkSafe has accepted an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) from Hawke’s Bay District Health Board following a 2018 accident in which a patient fell from a patient lifter while being transferred from an air ambulance to a road ambulance
Head of Specialist Interventions for Worksafe Simon Humphries says the DHB had proposed a series of commitments within their application that would help ensure the incident would not happen again, not just in Hawke’s Bay but New Zealand wide. Continue →
Log firm sentenced after fatality
Mangere based company Guru NZ Limited has been ordered to pay a fine of $330,750 plus $110,000 in reparations after a worker suffered fatal crushing injuries
At the time of the incident the victim was helping a colleague to close doors on a container filled with logs for export. Continue →
Time to toughen up and close the loopholes
Does Worksafe New Zealand have the will to follow the lead of the Labour Inspectorate and prosecute company officers for offences committed by the company? Continue →
Preventing hand and finger injuries in the workplace
Hand and finger injuries in the workplace are an ongoing concern. Continue →
Are Enforceable Undertakings worthwhile?
The completion of an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) by Woods Glass has highlighted some of the benefits of the WorkSafe enforcement tool that serves as an alternative to prosecution
In 2018 a Woods Glass worker suffered crushing injuries to their leg while operating a glass cutting machine. Continue →