Juken NZ has been fined $365,000 and ordered to pay $60,000 to a former employee who was engulfed by boiling steam at its triboard mill in Kaitaia.
The injured man said last week that he had thought he was going to die, while his injuries had forced his early retirement, after five months off work. He continued to have difficulty, having lost strength in his hands, and had to protect his skin from the sun, but it was internal injuries that had affected him most.
The company was sentenced in the Kaitaia District Court last week on convictions of breaching health and safety regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. It was also revealed that it had amassed 20 previous health and safety convictions over the last two decades.
The incident that led to the latest charges, in July 2017, resulted in the worker suffering serious steam burns. He was in an induced coma for 36 hours, and spent three weeks in hospital.
The maintenance electrician had been replacing a heat probe inside an enclosed manufacturing press when the machine was switched on, engulfing him in steam. He suffered third-degree burns to his hands and wrists, superficial burns to his face, and inhalation burns to his throat, lungs and stomach.