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Peter and Barbara Greenhalgh said they’ve been “to hell and back” since Peter was injured in the freak accident, which neither the council or Whangārei Construction had taken responsibility or apologised for.
The couple were angry about what they believed was a lack of sympathy and support offered to them during a recent meeting with Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo and then-acting CEO Dominic Kula. They felt so badly treated by the pair that they had since formally complained about them to the ombudsman.
Barbara alleged Cocurullo and Kula tried to say it was nobody’s fault and that the couple were trying to “get money out of them”.
Peter Greenhalgh, pictured with wife Barbara, is still recovering from injuries received while walking across Kotuitui Whitinga bridge. Photo / Michael Cunningham
However, the council said it “sincerely empathised” with the upset couple, had given them helpful advice and was surprised to hear their view of the meeting, which it thought had gone well.
He hit his head against a metal railing and suffering a broken hip, arm and elbow in the fall.
His recovery has been slow. For the past three weeks he has had a raging infection in his arm from surgical metal his body rejected, and he has a huge scar down his right hand side from the 30 stitches that sealed the wound over a pin used to fix his hip.
The Greenhalghs said they have had to dip into their retirement savings to cover their increased bills since the incident, including $80 weekly surcharges for physio fees and the cost of hiring a lawyer for a meeting with council representatives.
As a 76-year-old retiree, Peter wouldn’t normally qualify for any financial support from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) but because he was still working part-time as a community caregiver, he qualified for 50 per cent of that income.
Surgeons told Peter he might never regain the use of his arm, meaning he won’t be able to drive or work. Barbara, who recently retired, is considering going back to work.
Barbara Greenhalgh says she and husband Peter have been to "hell and back". Photo / Michael Cunningham
She believed comments made by the mayor were “belittling” and that he had tried to minimise Peter’s injuries. All he had proffered was advice for them to go to ACC and to get budgeting help from the organisation Northable, of which he was previously a board member. She visited Northable but found the services on offer didn’t align with Peter’s situation.
The mayor said he was saddened his comments had been interpreted in the way described.
“I sincerely empathise with the upset they feel over the injury Mr Greenhalgh has suffered. I was reassured at the meeting that the couple found the advice to seek support from the agencies I recommended helpful.”
Kula, whose usual role is as the council’s general manager planning and development, felt the meeting had been constructive and had “ended on a positive note”.
He said this had been supported by emails exchanged with the Greenhalghs’ lawyer Victor Corbett, which have been seen by the Advocate.
Cocurullo said WorkSafe had reviewed the incident and advised no investigation would be undertaken and the file would be closed.
“Even so, our team was upset about what happened. We have committed to do everything we can to make sure the rest of the industry is aware of this previously unknown risk so that this never happens again.”
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo. Photo / Northern Advocate
Barbara claimed their ordeal could have been avoided if the contractor had turned its mind to potential health and safety hazards.
In Barbara’s view, the young workers who were handling the scrim lacked experience and supervision and hadn’t considered any potential health and safety hazards.
She said there was no notice for pedestrians, no cones used to mark the work in progress, and only one worker was wearing high-vis clothing.
Barbara believed the council, as the contractor’s employer, should have ensured ithe contractor was following proper health and safety protocols.
The council said in response that its investigation to date showed there was “very little, if any, industry information circulating about the kind of accident that happened with the scrim on the bridge”.
“The team of two worked quickly to attempt to remove the scrim when the cable ties failed. Unfortunately Mr and Mrs Greenhalgh were already on the bridge when the failure happened and Mr Greenhalgh was injured by the loose scrim that the team was attempting to remove.
“We will be devising guidelines for contractors to use industry-wide in future to ensure an accident of this type is avoided.”
The Kotuitui Whitinga bridge, on the Hatea Loop, where Peter Greenhalgh was critically injured in a freak incident on March 19. Photo / Eric Maning
Corbett told the Advocate the case highlighted the unfortunate repercussions of New Zealand’s ACC law. Because ACC theoretically covered all injuries, people couldn’t take private civil action (sue) for personal injury.
He said WorkSafe could take a prosecution but had said it wouldn’t intervene, probably because in its view this case didn’t meet the requisite high threshold of those it selectively pursued.
The couple could launch a private criminal prosecution alleging that under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the council failed in its duty of care as a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) to ensure the safety of people who could be put at risk by the work of the business, Corbett said. However, a private prosecution would come with considerable cost and similar legal hurdles to those WorkSafe would have contemplated.
A report of the council’s own internal investigation – due out this week - would be the deciding factor for the Greenhalghs, Corbett said.
