A Christchurch flour mill has been fined $300,000 and ordered to pay $100,000 in reparation after a worker was left paralysed from a fall.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
In July 2018, a worker at Champion Flour Milling was left paralysed from the waist down after she fell 3.7m from a fixed platform and an unsecured ladder, while doing maintenance on a grain conveyer.
WorkSafe prosecuted the company over the incident.
"Multiple safety failings" at Champion were uncovered during WorkSafe's investigation into the fall.
The platform the worker fell from had no guard rail or permanent access, and did not meet industry standards.
Although the worker was required to wear a harness, there were no rated anchor points for her to attach to, WorkSafe said.
Champion had policies and procedures for working at height, but were not implemented properly, WorkSafe chief inspector Steve Kelly said.
"A worker now faces a very different life because Champion did not meet its obligations to her," he said.