A New Zealand company, and its Director, has been fined after a workplace accident left a worker a tetraplegic (otherwise known as quadriplegic).
Disregard for employee health and safety resulted in a total of NZ$386,300 (equivalent to over $360,000 Australian dollars) in fines and reparation.
The horticultural company and Director were each charged for:
- Failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of its employee while at work
- Failing in its duty to notify WorkSafe after the incident
- Disturbing the incident scene and continuing to use the harvester that injured the worker
The accident occurred while the worker was unloading a harvester from a truck. The worker was struck on the back of the neck by part of the harvester, which was used to collect pumpkin and squash. This resulted in the worker laying undiscovered, in a remote location and unable to move, for several hours.
The district court found the:
- Company hadn’t followed basic health and safety management practices, such as understanding and managing risks associated with using the harvester;
- Worker was inadequately trained in the use, or transport, of the harvester; AND
- Company had no emergency plan to cover when a person is injured while working alone
All this despite using the harvester since 1996.
How does this accident affect your workplace?
While this accident happened across the Tasman, it is still relevant to Australian workplaces.
Regardless of how long a piece of plant or equipment has been in your workplace, do your workers know how to use it safety?
It also highlights the importance of having:
- Emergency plans in place, so all workers know what to do in the event of an emergency. This is especially important when workers are operating remotely or own their own
- Accident investigation procedures in place to identify areas improvements and prevent similar events from happening
WLSS can help business with emergency management and accident investigation. We can assist by:
- Developing Safe Operating Procedures (SOPs) for plant and equipment, including how to safely set up, use and shut down equipment
- Emergency management plans, including remote and isolated work
- Accident investigation, including identifying the cause and corrective measures to prevent accidents from reoccurring
If you need help, or further information, visit our website or call us on (08) 8322 2279.
