Entertainment company Fun Solutions has been fined more than $400,000 after a large inflatable slide collapsed injuring a dozen people - most of them children.
One man broke both ankles when the slide collapsed. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
WorkSafe prosecuted the company after it allowed the slide to become overloaded and collapse at the Whangamatā Summer Festival in December 2020. People fell from a height of up to 12m.
The sentencing at Waihi District Court today heard from a man who had been on top of the slide when it collapsed.
He broke both his ankles, had had 11 surgeries, and is still at home recovering.
Expert reports found the slide was electrically unsafe, had air leaks and poor anchoring.
In a statement, WorkSafe said witnesses said there were no rules displayed, no instructions were given, no age or weight checks done and there were no workers at the top of the slide when it collapsed. After it collapsed, people who were on the slide were not evacuated effectively or safely.
WorkSafe said Fun Solutions had been responsible for two similar incidents.
In 2015, a mammoth slide overloaded and collapsed at the Masterton A&P Show, injuring six children. The director Eric Gerritsen was fined $115,000 for obstructing WorkSafe's investigation.
In 2016, another slide from the company collapsed at an event in Hamilton Gardens and 10 children fell about 10m. WorkSafe issued a directive letter, and Hamilton City Council later banned the company from operating at the site.
WorkSafe's area investigation manager Paul West said the company's safety record was extremely concerning.
WorkSafe expected the company to make improvements and would take further action if needed, West said.