Wednesday, 16 December 2015 08:58

$20k fine after quad bike crash

Written by 
A farm manager has been awarded reparations of $50,000 after a 2012 quad bike crash at work. A farm manager has been awarded reparations of $50,000 after a 2012 quad bike crash at work.

A farm manager has been awarded reparations of $50,000 after a 2012 quad bike crash at work.

His employers were fined $20,000 for failing to keep him safe at work.

The farm manager broke his neck and sustained permanent brain damage when his quad bike hit a large tree while he was rounding up his dogs, WorkSafe NZ has reported. He was not wearing a helmet, although one had been purchased for the farm.

He was in an induced coma for two weeks.

The farm owners, Karen Anne McLanachan and Kenneth Rae McLanachan, were sentenced on December 14 in the Gisborne District Court under the Health and Safety in Employment Act for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of their employee.

The sentencing judge, Judge Collin, said the McLanachan's key failure was not having hazard identification or controls in place. He stated that it was "as obvious as night follows day" that had the defendants had a health and safety plan in place, then it would have followed that there would have been a clear direction that no one was to get on the quad bike without a helmet.

A 2014 investigation by WorkSafe health and safety inspectors could not determine why the bike collided with the tree.

More like this

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is growing and making up a disproportionate share of nonnegative workplace drug test results.

Accident triggers traffic alert in barns, sheds

WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.

Crush death triggers on-farm traffic alert

Following a sentencing for a death at a South Canterbury agribusiness, WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds.

Featured

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Are they serious?

OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their…

A hurry up!

OPINION: PM Chris Luxon is getting pinged lately for rolling out the old 'we're still a new government' line when…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter