A son who worked alongside his father in forestry described the frightful moment he saw a hauler smashing into the cabin of a digger his father was inside.
“I think Dad’s dead,” he told his mum over the phone as he sprinted down the hill to check on him.
Luckily his father survived but his life has never been the same since.
Now the Northland logging company involved has been ordered to pay more than $70,000 in costs for failing to ensure equipment was maintained.
NZME has not named the logging company to protect the identity of the victim who has name suppression.
The company recently appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing before Judge Greg Davis on one charge filed by WorkSafe under the Health and Safety Act 2015.
WorkSafe alleged the company failed to ensure the plant was safe for use including the main brake and main cable was regularly checked and maintained.
The accident occurred on a busy logging site in the mid-north in November 2022 as the day was coming to an end.
The victim was working in a shovelling machine under a cable that had a loaded log hauler feeding along the line, up the hill to the loading area.
As the hauler reached the top, the brakes failed and the fully loaded hauler hurtled backwards down the cable and landed on the shovelling machine, with the victim inside.
His son, who was at the top of the hill, witnessed the event and described in his victim impact statement the trauma that he had been through.
“Knowing the height of the carriage, the distance it travelled and its weight, that moment has forever been scarred into my mind.
“In that moment, I was sure my dad was dead. My first thought was to call my mum. I called her and I told her I thought my dad, her husband, was gone,” he said.
The son explained he couldn’t reach his father due to the weight of the hauler but when he saw he was alive, knew he needed medical attention which was some time away.
“I couldn’t get him out, it was excruciating. He desperately needed medical attention and I thought he might die before he could get that. And all I could do was stand here and wait.
“It’s not a feeling I would ever wish anyone to experience, and it’s not something that leaves you,” he said in his statement.
The victim received severe injuries including a traumatic brain injury and is no longer able to work or live the life he once had.
His wife described him as a bushman who enjoyed fishing, horseriding, hunting, forestry working and giving back to the community.
The couple also used to enjoy long motorbike rides together which they are no longer able to do due to the movement restriction he suffered as a result of the accident.
The owner of the company addressed the whānau in court and said at the time, he was under significant financial pressure to perform and was ‘chasing contracts.’
“To you fellas, my deepest and sincere apologies. This is something that shouldn’t have happened.
“We’re in a dangerous workforce and I know it was the failure of the machines fault and I take the blame for that,” he said.
He added he has changed his views on life since the accident and is no longer chasing the dream of being a “big-time contractor”.
At the sentencing Judge Davis said he wanted to be clear, the fault lay squarely at the feet of the company.
“This was not your husband’s fault, this was not your dad’s fault and I really want that message to come through clear. The reality is, he was the victim of this offending.
“Why this accident occurred was because that machine and the brakes weren’t properly maintained,” Judge Davis emphasised.
Judge Davis said it was a busy working forest with people moving around and the company had an obligation to ensure all safety practices were enforced.
“One of the most dangerous things in my limited experience in this area is complacency that can creep into this industry and when complacency creeps in, shortcuts tend to be taken, whether or not that’s the case here we will never know.”
Judge Davis ordered the company to pay the victim $60,000 in emotional harm along with $15,636 in an ACC top-up.
The business has reportedly gone broke therefore Judge Davis did not add any additional fines.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.