Family call for overhaul of work death inquiries

Lincoln Kidd was killed in a forestry accident in Horowhenua. Photo / Horowhenua Chronicle

The parents of a young forestry worker killed when a tree fell on him are calling for an overhaul in the way workplace incidents are investigated.

Lincoln Kidd, 20, died in December 2013 on a Horowhenua forestry block. He was crushed by a tree felled by his boss, Paul Burr, 47.

In a groundbreaking move, Burr was charged with manslaughter over the death, the first time such a case was brought over a workplace death.

After hearing three weeks of evidence in the High Court at Palmerston North, a jury took a little over two hours yesterday to acquit Burr on that charge and one of breaching health and safety legislation.

The latter charge was laid by WorkSafe NZ and the more serious charge followed months later, when police became involved.

Mr Kidd's parents, Lesley and Craig, said police should be investigating workplace deaths straightaway, alongside WorkSafe.

"I think what I'd like to see is some changes, not just for forestry," Mrs Kidd said last night.

Speaking at their Levin house, she and her husband said not having police involved felt like such deaths were minimised.

They would also like safety investigators to receive more training in forensics and other techniques used by police, while the forestry industry needed to look at why so many people had died in recent years.

The lifting of a suppression order means NZME can now report a previous, less serious, health and safety charge both Burr and his now-defunct company admitted. Sentencing on these is next month.

Lincoln Kidd had worked in forestry for four years and harboured a passion for the industry for even longer.

One image in a photo album the family made shows him as a toddler with a wooden toy chainsaw. Others show him out hunting, working and with friends and family, who Craig Kidd thanked for their support.

The Kidds said they wanted Lincoln remembered as the person he was - the hard worker, loving partner and family member - rather than just another statistic.

Lincoln Kidd was killed by a tree that Burr felled using machinery. He was just 7m away when the tree came down at an unexpected angle, but Burr didn't know where he was.

The Crown argued Burr broke a "cardinal rule of forestry" when he failed to observe the "two-tree rule", which states the ground in all directions must be clear for twice the distance of the felled tree.

The Crown also argued Burr made no attempt to locate Mr Kidd.

The defence said his death was an accident and Mr Kidd was supposed to be on another part of the forestry block at the time. NZME