Affco, ACC split costs in worker-shooting case

Affco and ACC have split costs in a long-running dispute over payment to a meatworker in Wairoa who was shot while sitting in a car during a break.

The dispute started after Joel Storey was shot in the Affco carpark in April 2003 in what was believed to be a gang-related incident.

He was left paralysed from the waist down.

ACC said the incident came under the umbrella of a workplace accident and billed the company for $1 million in compensation.

It said Affco had entered an agreement in 2000 that explicitly stated it would be responsible for any injury occurring on its premises, whether or not it was at fault. In return, Affco paid reduced ACC levies.

Affco claimed the incident was beyond employer responsibility and said if the case needed to be tested in what was likely to be a drawn-out court case, it was prepared to do so.

The case went to mediation in 2007, but ACC withdrew after deciding no progress was likely to be made.

But it has confirmed the issue has since been settled and the costs of Mr Storey's claim for initial costs would be split equally.

A spokeswoman said the amount was around $1 million. Ongoing costs would be met by ACC.

Affco yesterday declined to comment.

Associate Professor Susan St John, an Auckland University expert on ACC, told the Dominion Post the agreement could set a precedent for future claims.

ACC appeared to have partially acknowledged the shooting had not occurred in the workplace and the situation was likely to open the way for future disputes over responsibility for workplace accidents.

- NZPA