Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
17 February 2018
 
Plea:
Not guilty
 
Decision:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
The Court imposed fine at $72,000 and fine to be paid at a rate of $2,000 per month over a period of three years.

Safety lessons learned:

Eatim Limited failed to have:

  1. Ensured the potato harvester was adequately guarded in accordance with AS/NZS 4024, by the use of guarding interlocked to the harvester’s energy source, to ensure that guarding was incapable of removal until the harvester’s energy source was isolated and locked in a safe condition.

Defendant name:
Eatim New Zealand Limited
 
Industry:
Agriculture
 
Date of offence:
17 February 2018
 
Facts in brief:
The victim was working on a potato harvester which did not have adequate interlocked guarding meaning he was able to access the moving parts while the harvester was still in operation. The victim was pulled into the machine at a time when he appeared to be trying to clear and blockage and died.
 
Related prosecutions:
 
Offence section:
Sections 48(1), 48(2)(c), and 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
 
Date(s) charged:
15 February 2019

Court:
Manukau - District Court
 
Plea:
Not guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Guilty
 
Fine imposed:
The Court imposed fine at $72,000 and fine to be paid at a rate of $2,000 per month over a period of three years.
 
Maximum fine available:
$1.5 million
 
Reparation:
Emotional harm – $56,000 to the victim's family (his parents) and $6,000 of this sum is to be paid from Eatim's account dedicated to the victim.
Consequential loss – Nil
Costs – $51,000 legal costs and this sum includes expert costs of $10,000.
 
Related Documents:
PDF
Sentencing notes – WorkSafe New Zealand v Eatim New Zealand Limited (PDF 307 KB)
PDF
Reserved decision – WorkSafe New Zealand v Eatim New Zealand Limited (PDF 425 KB)
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Subscribe