Fence post company fined after workplace accident

Media release

13 March 2013

Fence post company fined after workplace accident

A Dunedin fence post producer Juro Corporation Limited (JCL), trading as Great Southern – Milton, has been fined $52,550 and ordered to pay reparations of $40,000 after an accident which resulted in a worker losing his leg.

The Dunedin District Court yesterday (Tuesday 12 March) heard that the worker’s leg was dragged into a post-peeling machine and subsequently needed to be surgically amputated below the knee last May.

A Ministry investigation found that the machine was more than 20-years old; did not have guarding in place to protect workers; and that JCL had failed to identify hazards on the post-peeling machine.

“Regardless of the age of the machine, we have current guarding standards that must be complied with to ensure workers are kept safe. There is simply no excuse for this accident and its very unfortunate impact on a worker who had every right to expect to be safe at work,” said Francois Barton, the Ministry’s Southern Regional Health and Safety General Manager.

Detailed information on safe machine-guarding principles is on the Ministry’s website.

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