Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
11 December 2016
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Convicted and fined
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
$70,000

Safety lessons learned:
  1. Conduct a risk assessment of the farm site and the tasks carried out on it, including the task of feeding out with a tractor and silage on sloping terrain.
  2. Record the identified risks within a risk register.
  3. Ensure that the use of the silage trailer for feeding out was within the capabilities of the tractor.
  4. Identify safe work procedures for each task together with effective control measures that eliminated or minimised the identified risks, including the procedure relating to the safe loading and operation of the tractor and silage trailer on sloping terrain.
  5. Make a record of those safe work procedures and control measures.
  6. Ensure that its workers were properly inducted by way of an induction process to the farm and thereby informed of all applicable safe work procedures and identified risks and control measures including the safe loading and operation of the tractor and silage trailer on sloping terrain.
  7. Keep a record of the induction for each of its workers.
  8. Ensure that an appropriately qualified person (namely a qualified engineer) was engaged to certify, monitor and maintain the Roll Over Protection System on the tractor to ensure that it complied with the applicable code of practice.

Defendant name:
Scott Alexander McRae
 
Industry:
Agriculture
 
Date of offence:
11 December 2016
 
Facts in brief:
A farm worker was killed when his tractor overturned and came to rest on top of him while he was feeding out on a dairy in Wellsford.
 
Offence section:
Sections 48(1) and 2(b), and 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
 
Date(s) charged:

Court:
North Shore - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Convicted and fined
 
Fine imposed:
$70,000
 
Maximum fine available:
$300,000
 
Reparation:
$130,000 ($20,000 of this amount is to reflect the increased emotional harm suffered by the deceased’s son who was with him at the time of the incident).
$43,974.24 for consequential loss (ACC shortfall).
$4,220.43 for consequential loss (funeral costs not covered by ACC).
 
Related Documents:
PDF
Sentencing notes - WorkSafe New Zealand v Scott Alexander McRae (PDF 164 KB)
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