Taranaki bakery company, Yarrows has been sentenced to pay out more than $65,000 following the serious injury of an employee with a hoist machine at the company's Manaia factory.
In sentencing at the Hawera District Court, Judge Garry Barkle ordered Yarrows to pay $27,500 compensation to the victim, which included $20,000 already paid at a restorative justice meeting.
The company was also fined $39,375 plus court and solicitors costs, and ordered to pay $106 for medical costs and $968.05 in shortfall between ACC payments and the victim's earnings.
The company pleaded guilty at an appearance earlier this year to failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of an employee while at work in that it failed to ensure he was not exposed to hazards arising out of the use of a hoist machine.
WorkSafe NZ originally brought two charges stemming from the accident in October last year, though one of the charges was later dropped.
The charge - laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act of 1992 - carried a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine.
The 1992 legislation was replaced earlier this year by the much tougher Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, which carried maximum fines of up to $3 million for breaches by a company.