Paul Robert Burr

Forestry

19 December 2013

The Defendant is the sole director and shareholder of Paul Burr Contracting Limited (“the company”). The company is a forestry contractor which fells logs at various forest sites.
The company owns a Volvo digger which is operated solely by Mr Burr.

On the day of the incident, Mr Burr was using the Volvo digger to fell a tree which was approximately 29 metres in height and located on a slope (“the tree”).

The victim, an employee of the company, had been instructed to manually fell four trees. The victim was standing alongside the trees he had manually felled approximately 7 metres behind the Volvo digger and 17 metres from the stump of the tree. The tree did not fall into the slope, instead it fell backwards and the victim was killed.

Paul Burr Contracting Limited

• Sections 6 and 50(1)(a) of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Sections 6, 49(2), 49(3) and 56 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

Palmerston North - High Court

• Sections 6, 50(1)(a) and 56: Guilty
• Sections 6, 49(2), 49(3) and 56: Not Guilty

• Sections 6, 50(1)(a) and 56: Guilty
• Sections 6, 49(2), 49(3) and 56: Acquitted

$25,000 payable by Paul Burr personally

$250,000

$75,000 payable by Paul Burr Contracting Limited.