North Island Mussels Limited was sentenced in Tauranga District Court for breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act. Photo / File
A Bay of Plenty mussel farm company has been fined $150,000 and must pay $31,000 reparation to a deckhand whose hand was severely crushed onboard one of its barges.
North Island Mussels Limited earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with its duty that exposes an individual to the risk of death or serious injury or serious illness.
Maritime New Zealand laid the charge, which is a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, in December last year. The maximum penalty for a company is a $1.5 million fine.
North Island Mussels was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court yesterday by Judge Thomas Ingram.
The court heard the 18-year-old deckhand's right hand was crushed in a pulley on the mussel-farming vessel Waikawau off the Coromandel Peninsula on January 9 last year.
On the day the injury happened, a hook on the vessel had already jammed twice and had to be freed, and about 4.15pm the pulley jammed for the third time.
As the victim climbed the crane gantry to try to free the hook, his foot touched the lever controlling the pulley, causing it to move and four fingers on his right hand were crushed.
As the injured deckhand tried to free himself, his foot again brushed the lever causing his hand to be further crushed by the pulley.
The victim suffered severe cuts to the fingers on his right hand, three of which were fractured. He required multiple skin grafts.
His right little finger also had to be amputated at the joint and he has so far had several surgeries and undergone several months of rehabilitation therapy.
Maritime New Zealand's lawyer Claire Paterson argued the appropriate sentence starting point was a fine between $400,000 and $500,000.
Paterson said there were several actions the defendant could have taken to prevent the risk of injury on the vessel.
This included installing a physical barrier for the hook should it become jammed, and better training.
However, Paterson said Maritime New Zealand accepted this was not a case of wilful or deliberate omission but the employer could have taken steps to prevent the victim from putting himself in harm's way.
She said the victim's future career prospects were significantly impacted by his lifelong injury and he may yet need further surgery.
The victim still suffered significant emotional harm and mental distress, Paterson said.
Bruce Fraser, the defendant's lawyer, argued the sentence starting point should be much lower as the victim had undergone training in the standard operating procedures.
Those steps were taken when the hook became jammed twice earlier that day, he said.
Fraser said this was not a deliberate or wilful act.
He urged Judge Ingram to take into account that the employee's actions were unexpected and the company had taken immediate remedial steps and also supported the victim.
Judge Ingram said he was satisfied this was "a sin of omission" in failing to identify the risk rather than wilful blindness or the deliberate commission of an act of wrongdoing.
The judge took into account the company's otherwise "good corporate citizen" record.
Although North Island Mussels had previously been prosecuted for an unrelated accident involving another employee, no increase to the penalty would be made, he said.
Judge Ingram said he was satisfied a fine of $150,000 was sufficient to denounce North Island Mussels after taking into account the serious nature of this lifelong injury.
He also took into account North Island Mussels' guilty plea, offer to pay emotional harm reparation, remedial actions and the financial and pastoral care provided to the victim.
North Island Mussels has also been ordered to pay $9587 to Maritime New Zealand to cover half of its prosecution costs.
Michael-Paul Abbott, Maritime NZ's compliance manager – central region, said the fine reflected the severity of the incident and its lifelong impact on the crew member.
Abbott said there were many actions North Island Mussels could have taken to prevent its employee from being harmed.
Some of North Island Mussels' fleet had stopper guards to prevent pulleys from getting stuck. However, they were not installed on the Waikawau at the time of the incident.
Further, staff could have been prevented from reaching the pinch point of the gantry pulley, which put them at risk, he said.
The company also did not have any formal training for the safe removal of jammed hooks.
Abbott said Maritime NZ encouraged all businesses to proactively protect their workers from harm.
"Involve your staff in health and safety decisions and discussions. Train them well. Make safety part of your culture – encourage them to report workplace dangers. If you know something's an issue, don't walk past it – fix it.
"Something that might seem minor, such as a hook jamming in a pulley, can injure or kill."