Port company fined, to pay reparation over worker death

At its sentencing in the Christchurch District Court today, the company was also fined $63,000 over the death of Bradley Fletcher. Photo / File

The Lyttleton Port Company must pay the family of a worker who died on the job $75,000 reparation.

At its sentencing in the Christchurch District Court today, the company was also fined $63,000 over the death of Bradley Fletcher.

He was killed in August last year when the scissor lift he was using toppled over while he was trying to jump-start a straddle carrier.

Mr Fletcher was thrown from the lift and hit a shipping container before falling to the ground.

He suffered fatal head and brain injuries.

A subsequent WorkSafe NZ investigation found multiple failures by the port company contributed to Mr Fletcher's death.

These failures included poor maintenance and a lack of training and inadequate systems for identifying faulty machinery and returning it to safe use.

The company admitted a charge laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure Mr Fletcher's safety while at work.

WorkSafe's high hazards and specialist services general manager Brett Murray said Mr Fletcher's death was a tragedy for his family, co-workers and the Lyttelton community.

"A proper hazard identification system would have highlighted the need to find a safer way to jump start the straddle carriers instead of using a scissor-lift to hoist Mr Fletcher and nearly 200kg of batteries almost 10m into the air.

"In at least one other New Zealand port, a second straddle carrier is brought alongside for any jump-starting, minimising the risk of working at height.

"Proper cleaning, testing and maintenance of equipment such as scissor-lifts should be standard procedure. Any machinery or plant that might put people in harm's way needs to be looked after - and staff need to be trained to use it safely," Mr Murray said.

"Brad Fletcher's death could have been avoided if the port had an effective safety-management system in place that identified key risk areas and ensured those risks were controlled. It is to be hoped that the lessons of this case can help prevent similar tragedies in the future."