Southland company fined after 80kg safe falls on worker’s leg

Tuesday 31 October 2001

A Southland company, H & J Smith Ltd, was sentenced to pay $3,500 today in the Invercargill District Court after being prosecuted by the Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH).

The sentencing comes after an accident last year where a female worker was helping to unload goods off the back of a truck when an 80kg safe fell on her. The worker suffered serious harm to her leg. The entire fine went to the victim.

"The company breached the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 by failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of the worker," said John Pannett, OSH Service Manager, Southland.

"They should have identified this activity as a hazard and provided the worker with training and instructions in manual handling. A long established company, like H & J Smith Ltd, should have known and acted better than they did.

"OSH and ACC have released a new Manual Handling Code this year which will help New Zealander’s protect themselves when undertaking manual handling in the workplace."

Manual handling includes a wide range of activities such as operating machinery, construction tasks and handling hospital patients.

"Manual handling can result in serious back injuries, musculoskeletal injuries and also acute injuries such as sprain and strains of muscles or tendons," said Mr Pannett.

"Finding the healthiest and safest ways of doing tasks where objects must be handled can save people from harm and make work more flexible, effective and productive. The Code can also be used to analyse tasks so that they can be altered to allow a person with acute low back pain to get back to work promptly."