Contractor fined $70k for safety breach after forestry worker loses fingers

RNZ News

5 days ago

By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of
The hauler involved in the incident which left a forestry worker seriously injured. Photo / Worksafe
Photo:
Supplied / Worksafe
A seasoned forestry worker lost four fingers in a workplace accident, which ended a 45-year career that was marked by pride, satisfaction and no intention to retire.
Now, Kohurau Contracting has been ordered to pay $150,000 and must publish an educational article about the dangers of untangling cable snarls in forestry operations.
In August 2021, the worker - who has name suppression - was at a forestry site near Waipu, south of Whangārei, helping clear a cable that had not been wound correctly on to the drum.
The experienced crew were packing up to relocate to another location but the tail line had over-spooled on to the drum, creating a "bird's nest" similar to which can occur on a fishing reel.
At least 1200m of cable had to be pulled out in order to clear the bird's nest.
The victim was guiding the rope back on to the drum using a hammer while seated beneath the tower.
Another worker was operating a grapple loader to keep the cable elevated.
During the operation, the stabiliser ram supporting the tower fractured, and a broken section - known as the spear - fell on to the victim, seriously injuring him.
As a result, the victim was hospitalised for six weeks and had to have four fingers amputated.
Kohurau was charged by WorkSafe for failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers and pleaded not guilty.
A five-day judge-alone trial was held in the Dargaville District Court in November 2024, where several witnesses gave evidence including the victim and industry experts.
WorkSafe's mechanical engineer, John Mains, stated that winching without guy ropes was unacceptable and the accident would not have occurred had the tower been properly secured.
Kohurau's expert argued that guy ropes were unnecessary for the task and the force involved was minimal - claims Judge Peter Davey found inconsistent.
The court also heard that Kohurau lacked a specific safe system for clearing birds' nests and relied heavily on the experience of its crew.
Judge Davey concluded Kohurau breached its duties under the Health and Safety Act and found the company guilty of exposing workers to serious risk.
This week at the Whangārei District Court the company was sentenced in the presence of its owner, Hamish John Owen.
Kohurau's lawyer Daniel Robinson argued the company was insolvent and had suffered a loss of $1.3 million because of the accident.
"Where do you get that from?" Judge Davey questioned before noting the company still had assets of around $400,000 and $250,000 in its bank account.
Judge Davey did not accept the losses were from the accident and stated the company had been downsizing prior to the accident.
Judge Davey repeatedly expressed his concern around whether reparation would be paid, to which Robinson assured him any amount ordered would be met.
"My instructions sir, is we will be able to be pay but that is limited to the reparation order," Robinson responded.
Robinson also submitted the absence of any industry guidelines for winding cables was a mitigating factor that should be applied to the companies' overall sentence.
Judge Davey noted the significant impact the accident had on the victim.
"He hasn't been able to return to work, he enjoyed the work, he had no plans of retiring," Judge Davey said.
"He clearly took great pride in his work, took great satisfaction in his work and he was good at his job.
"Despite what's happened to him, he nevertheless tries to stay positive."
Judge Davey said the price of an emotional harm reparation order was an intuitive exercise and there was no way to put a figure on the suffering caused.
"No amount of money can compensate the emotional harm that he has suffered."
Judge Davey said Kohurau should have had a process in place to clear birds' nests and there was "a real risk he could have been killed".
Kohurau, which has already paid the victim $10,000, was ordered to pay him a further $50,000.
The company was also fined $70,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of $30,000.
The court also issued a project order with two key commitments to be completed within 12 months.
Kohurau must work in collaboration with the Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) and Forestry Industry Contractors Association (FICA) to develop guidance on winding in non-working ropes.
It must also publish an article in NZ Forestry magazine highlighting the case to raise awareness and promote safer practices across the industry.
"This project order is a way for Kohurau to take the lead on delivering initiatives that create genuine sector-wide improvements in forestry. We look forward to seeing the benefits that this industry-led guidance produces," WorkSafe spokesperson Mark Horgan said.
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This story originally appeared in the
New Zealand Herald
.