New Zealand / Auckland Region

Ports of Auckland to pay $60k over worker injury

11:47 am on 20 June 2016

Auckland District Court has ordered Ports of Auckland to pay more than $60,000 after a stevedore was seriously injured on the job.

Ports of Auckland Photo: RNZ

The company had pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of its employees in relation to the incident, which happened in 2014.

The stevedore was working on a container ship, watching the foreman and another worker de-lash a container.

Using the faster option of walking across a hatch lid rather than using a ladder, he stepped off the edge of the lid and fell nearly 3m to the deck. He was left unconscious, with a fractured elbow.

The hatch lid did not have fitted safety rails.

The court fined the ports company nearly $50,000, and ordered it to pay reparations of $12,000.