New Zealand law stories
Public safety was put at risk when poorly planned excavation brought down a power pole in Wellington, prompting fines for two men.
A New Plymouth court has ordered more than USD $250,000 in penalties and reparation after a young worker lost three fingers in unguarded machinery.
A Christchurch meat plant has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after a worker lost four fingers in a cleaning accident.
A Rotorua logging firm’s failure to assess live powerlines left a worker with life-changing burns and triggered the penalty.
A near-miss after the Kaikōura earthquake exposed switch-isolation failures, prompting over GBP £200,000 in safety initiatives for the electricity sector.
WorkSafe says the penalty follows a preventable eye injury that left a worker needing emergency cardiac surgery after animal-borne infection.
A worker’s life was changed after a boiler flare-up at a meat plant left him with burns to 75% of his body, WorkSafe says.
A worker was injured and the firm fined after unsafe height access equipment failed during shed construction in Kerikeri.
A Timaru lumber yard has been fined after unsafe timber stacking led to a three-year-old boy suffering fatal chest and lung injuries.
Repeated breaches of WorkSafe notices led to a total GBP £63,000 in fines after workers were left exposed to deadly falls.
Thousands of New Zealand employers and workers can now apply for wage, leave and tax relief after the government unveiled a NZD $12.1 billion package.
A worker's death has led to a GBP £195,000 fine and GBP £65,000 in reparations after unsafe log-handling practices breached safety rules.
Asbestos risks were ignored during demolition, leaving workers and the public exposed and prompting a NZD $108,000 court penalty.
A subcontractor's 3.5-metre fall has prompted almost GBP £200,000 in safety upgrades, payments and donations from two firms.
Companies can face serious penalties if they hire untrained contractors, after a forestry worker suffered major chest injuries in Waitakere.
Employers face penalties if they miss the Holidays Act notice rules before sending staff on festive closedown or leave.
Lack of height-safety procedures left a teacher and student unconscious after a scaffold toppled during school lighting setup.
A North Island firm has been fined and ordered to pay reparation after an untrained worker was left paralysed in a boom lift fall.
WorkSafe said trainee crews lacked supervision and safety gear, after an inexperienced forestry worker was knocked unconscious by a felled tree.
Tighter expectations on consulting and monitoring contractors will leave PCBUs needing clearer records under WorkSafe’s new guidance.
