29.06.2007

Massive fine for Crane accident

Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure, which trades as Stresscrete, an Auckland based construction company, has been fined NZ$225,000 (£96,000) for knowingly allowing faulty equipment to be used, which resulted in the death of concrete worker Esera Visesio.

Visesio died after the crane tipped over dropping a concrete slap on him. the company had allowed the crane to be used even though it had developed a fault. The accident occurred in Papakura on March 10, 2005.

A further $20,000 fine was levied for the emotional harm caused to another worker who was injured in the same incident and $5000 legal costs with $130 court costs.

Stresscrete had denied the charge but the company was convicted earlier this year. The fine was on top of $250,000 the company has already paid to the dead man's family in reparation.

The New Zealand Department of Labour employed a rarely used section of the Health and Safety in Employment Act and managed to prove the company knew the crane needed to be fixed and knew it would cause serious injury if it was not, but failed to fix it.

The fine is believed to be the largest ever imposed for an offence under New Zealand’s Health and Safety in Employment Act although the department of Labour had asked for the fine to be $400,000 (£154,000)