By Liu Chen of RNZ
Time is running out for a migrant worker who is on life support after falling from a height while using a scissor lift at work in late December.
Jun Jiang, 37, came to New Zealand from Jiangsu, China, on an accredited employer
WorkSafe investigating fall that has left migrant worker in a coma
RNZ
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“I was so nervous that I was shaking. I couldn’t even talk,” Fan said. “I asked if he was okay, and I was told that it was serious as he hit the ground with his head. I felt as though the sky had collapsed on me.”
Fan contacted a friend who spoke English to call emergency services, she said.
A St John spokesperson confirmed the medical service had assessed a patient at the scene, transporting the individual to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.
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Doctors operated on Jiang’s brain that evening before placing him on life support, Fan said.
“The doctor kept telling me some bad news and asked me to plan for the worst,” she said.
Fan and Jiang’s parents rushed to New Zealand on Friday, as his condition had not improved.
Doctors at the hospital had decided to switch Jiang’s life support off at 5pm on Tuesday, Fan said.
Fan had initially cried for days immediately after the incident but was learning to accept what had happened.
However, she questioned whether the business had failed to follow health and safety measures to keep workers safe.
An ambulance care summary sighted by RNZ stated that Jiang was not wearing any safety harness or helmet when the crew arrived at the scene.
The St John spokesperson said they were unable to confirm these details and referred all questions to WorkSafe.
A WorkSafe spokesperson said the department’s investigation was ongoing.
WorkSafe was in contact with SD Aluminium and had issued a non-disturbance notice to preserve the scene as part of its ongoing inquiries, the spokesperson said.
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“Falls from height are a well-known risk in manufacturing, which is a priority sector in WorkSafe’s new strategy,” the spokesperson said.
“The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 required businesses and organisations to manage their health and safety risks,” the spokesperson said.
“When it comes to working at height, this means using machinery appropriate for the task, training workers and carrying out proper risk assessment – all of which are under scrutiny in this case.”
According to the Government’s guidance on working at height, the Health and Safety at Work Act requires that “reasonable and practicable steps must be taken to prevent harm” if there was potential for a person at work to fall from any height.
The guidance requires businesses to implement a “fall arrest system” to support and hold a person in the event of a fall, which consists of a harness connected to an anchorage point, as well as provide a safety helmet that is worn to protect workers from head injuries in a fall.
Police said they were notified of the incident but referred other questions to WorkSafe.
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A spokesperson from SD Aluminium told RNZ the matter was being investigated, and, as such, it would not be appropriate for the company to respond to questions at this time.
“In the meantime, we are providing support to our employee and his family,” the spokesperson said.
Accident Compensation Corporation paid a settlement to the widow of a Chinese worker who died after falling from a height at a building site in 2019, according to a New Zealand Herald report.
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