Gisborne waste shredder death: Company found guilty of charge brought by WorkSafe

A worker died after being trapped in a waste shredder at ME Jukes and Son Ltd, Gisborne.

A Gisborne company has been found guilty of a charge brought against it by WorkSafe NZ after an employee’s death in April 2022.

Judge Warren Cathcart, in giving his reserved decision in Gisborne District Court on Wednesday, said the charge against ME Jukes & Son had been proved.

The worker died from injuries suffered when he became trapped in a waste shredder at the company’s Stanley Rd premises on April 13, 2022.

The company faced a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act of failing to comply with its duty, which exposed an individual to the risk of death or serious injury.

It pleaded not guilty and a judge-alone trial was held before Judge Cathcart at Gisborne District Court in June this year.

In court, Judge Cathcart said his reserved judgment was long – 166 paragraphs – and he would provide copies of it to counsel.

Defence lawyers Daniel Robinson and Edwin Boshier, of Auckland law firm Duncan Cotterill, and WorkSafe’s lawyer Tim Mackenzie attended through audio-visual link.

Interested parties were also in the court.

The name of the deceased person and other workers present were suppressed.

Judge Cathcart remanded the case for sentencing – set down for about an hour – on May 5 next year.