Company fined for keeping accident secret

16 November 2006

Failing to notify the Department of Labour of a serious work injury has cost a Nelson logging operator $1700.

G and M Beard Ltd was convicted and fined in the Nelson District Court yesterday for breaching the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) Act.

All workplace incidents that result in a serious injury must be reported to the Department and the scene left as undisturbed as possible.

Acting health and safety service manager for Nelson-Marlborough Annette Baxter said employers had to inform the Department of any serious injury as soon as possible, and provide written confirmation within seven days.

In this particular incident, an employee received two broken fingers during a tree felling operation, but the company neglected to report the accident. It wasn’t until the Department carried out an unrelated workplace inspection more than a week later that the non-reported injury came to light.

“By hiding the incident, the company only made matters worse for itself, and showed how little regard it had for the wellbeing of an employee.”

All serious accidents had to be reported so that industries could learn important safety lessons to prevent other accidents, Ms Baxter said. Serious harm is partly defined as any severe temporary or permanent loss of bodily function.

Serious harm notifications to the Department have increased significantly over the last decade, showing most employers understand their obligations under the HSE Act. Prosecutions for non-notification had fallen from a high of 13 in 1994 to one so far this year.

Please note that health and safety services formerly referred to as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) should now be referred to as the Department of Labour.