$20,000 fine for Kawerau sawmill after worker injured
A Kawerau sawmill company has been ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 after one of its employees sustained multiple fractures when he became trapped in a conveyor belt.
Sequal Lumber Limited Partnership was also ordered to pay reparations of $8,000 following the accident which happened on 4 September last year.
The Whakatane District Court heard that an employee of Sequal Lumber was shovelling bark onto the conveyor belt when the accident happened.
"The employee dropped his shovel, tripped over it and fell onto the conveyor belt, trapping his right arm between the conveyer and its pulley," says central region health and safety manager for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ona De Rooy.
The employee was seriously injured as a result. He suffered multiple fractures, including a fracture to his right arm, several broken ribs and lacerations.
"This is yet another unacceptable example of an employer failing to take the steps required to keep their workers safe on the job. All too often employees are seriously injured at work, when it is their fundamental right to go home safe at the end of their working day," Ms De Rooy says.
"This accident could have been prevented if Sequal Lumber had put in place adequate machine guarding. We encourage all employers to familiarise themselves with the machine guarding information available on the MBIE's website, as well as our other information on keeping safe at work," Ms De Rooy says.
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