KEY POINTS:
A $90,000 penalty for Fulton Hogan Ltd after an employee was crushed to death by a concrete slab sends a clear message to the industry, the Department of Labour says.
The roading and infrastructure company was sentenced in Balclutha District Court yesterday for failing to ensure Stewart Michie, 72, was not exposed to hazards.
He was killed when a seven-tonne pre-cast concrete panel fell on him on July 5 last year.
The court was told Mr Michie, a part-time finishing plasterer, had been kneeling in front of the panel to polish it.
The panels were kept in "toast racks" - a steel base with 1.4m metal prongs separating and supporting the panels.
Another worker who had been behind him felt the panel move and yelled out but Mr Michie was unable to escape. He was trapped from his chest downwards.
Department workplace services regional manager Sheila McBreen-Kerr said employers had a duty to identify hazards and to isolate or eliminate them.
She said they were also required to monitor workplace practices.
"In this case it was found that its workers had not stored panels in the way the company had expected them to.
"But the panel wasn't stored safely and the department's investigation revealed other panels were stored in the same way."
The company was fine $40,000 and ordered to pay $50,000 reparation to Mr Michie's family.
- NZPA
