Companies that fail to enforce workplace safety measures oftentimes end up paying for it in more ways than one. Along with some negative PR, the financial penalties can be substantial. In a recent New Zealand case, a worker who was seriously injured in a grain silo accident in October of 2012 was recently awarded $26,000 in emotional harm reparations and his employer, NZ Starch Ltd of Onehunga, fined $35,000. The company had already paid nearly $20,000 to the victim.
NZ Starch had previously pleaded guilty to one charge (Section 6) under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and was sentenced at the Manukau District Court today. The victim was asked by his supervisor to sweep remaining grain from a silo before a new delivery. The silo contains a sweep auger which operates when gravity no longer forces the grain out of the silo, but which leaves a 10 centimetre residue of grain that has to be swept out by hand.
The victim knew he was supposed to turn off the auger before entering the silo, but had been shown by a supervisor how to slow the auger and sweep out the silo when it was operating at slow speed. This method was not authorised by NZ Starch.
Worker Suffered Major Injuries Following Fall
As an investigation discovered, the worker fell into the moving auger blades suffering a head injury, fractures to his right arm, right lower leg, right eye socket and jaw as well as broken tendons in one leg and extensive bruising. “The victim did not comply with company procedures, but the company had not isolated the hazard by installing an interlock which would have locked the silo access door while the auger was still active,” Chief Inspector Investigations for the Health and Safety group Keith Stewart said.
“This would have ensured workers could not override company instructions by slowing the auger and working in a dangerous environment,” Stewart added.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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