Company fined after worker loses leg

An employee had his right leg amputated after it got pulled into a wood chipper. Photo / Thinkstock

An employee who had his right leg amputated after it got pulled into a wood chipper will be given $35,000 in reparations.

Tree maintenance company Tree Scape Ltd was sentenced in the Manukau District Court on Friday over the incident, which happened on December 16, 2013.

The employee was working as part of a crew removing a roadside tree near power lines.

After the last of the large branches had been fed into the chipper, the employee noticed several small branches had not been picked up by the in-feed rollers, WorkSafe New Zealand said.

The employee used his right foot to kick the branches into the rollers and at the same time his left leg shifted on some loose gravel.

His right foot was pulled in by the chipper rollers.

Tree Scape Ltd was fined $24,750 and ordered to pay reparation of $35,000 to the employee, WorkSafe said.

The company was fined under Section 6 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act for not taking all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees at work.

WorkSafe's investigation revealed that Tree Scape Limited could have extended the chute of the chipper from 850mm to 1500mm to ensure employees were safe.

The man's injury could have been avoided, WorkSafe chief inspector, Keith Stewart said.

"Wood chippers are obvious hazards," he said.

"Tree Scape Limited could have complied with the Australian standard ... for machinery guarding by extending its chute.

"This would have ensured that staff had less opportunity to come into contact with the chipper. This life-changing injury could have been avoided."