French woman loses finger in workplace accident, company fined $79k

Celine Mathieu's hand was crushed. Photo / Alan GIbson

A French woman had a finger amputated and severely injured three others after getting her hand caught in a machine used for the production of horse supplements.

Celine Mathieu, 29, had been in New Zealand just a few months when she got a job at Kawerau's Let's Bale Ltd.

Mathieu told the Herald that on the day, about July 2018, she was cleaning the machine and put her hand in it as she could see hay - an ingredient used in the supplements - was accumulating inside, so she tried to get it out.

Unfortunately, her glove got stuck and her finger got squashed by the machine.

A colleague managed to help get her finger out.

The company was prosecuted by Worksafe and was fined $79,428 at the Tauranga District Court on Monday.

As well as the amputation of her right index finger, she suffered broken bones, lacerations and nerve and tendon damage.

Mathieu said the was in an exorbitant amount of pain. Due to a 20 minute wait for an ambulance, management took her to a nearby medical centre to get help in the meantime.

She's had multiple surgeries since and has another scheduled for May.

She didn't hold a grudge against the company and instead, had nothing but praise for them as they had supported her, including financially, since the accident as she was now on ACC and unable to work.

"They have taken care of me ... it was an accident, I was tired on the day. I knew what could happen and I made the choice to do that.

"I don't think it was their fault."

She said she came to New Zealand on a working holiday visa as she had always wanted to visit here and despite what had happened, didn't want to go home.

She had since begun study to become a French teacher.

As for her hand, one finger had limited movement and while she had suffered nerve and tendon damage, she hoped to be able to get back to work one day.

Meanwhile, WorkSafe's Acting Chief Inspector Danielle Henry said at the time of the incident the machine was undergoing testing and modification but there was inadequate guarding and no safe system of work in place for operating the machine while it was in this state.

Let's Bale should have been aware of the risks, Henry said.

"The need to guard machinery isn't new information. It is a legal requirement and one of the easiest ways to ensure your workers' safety.

"It might seem like health and safety 101, but too often WorkSafe is engaging with businesses where a lack of guarding has led to serious injury.

"Any employer who requires workers to operate machinery where there is a risk of entrapment should consider how they can best protect their workers. If a machine doesn't have adequate guarding, then it shouldn't be used. It's that simple."