Five-year-old boy struck by forklift driven by underage driver on Hawke’s Bay orchard

The boy suffered complex fractures to his hip bones and was hospitalised for a month. Photo / NZME

A 5-year-old child was in hospital for a month after being struck by a poorly-maintained forklift with no safety features, driven by a 14-year-old boy on a Hawke’s Bay orchard.

The 5-year-old boy had been taken to the orchard by his grandparents, who worked there, after childcare arrangements fell through.

The Kylie and Simon Halford Partnership, which runs the orchard, pleaded guilty to a charge laid under Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 of exposing an individual to risk of harm.

The company was fined $7000 by Judge Geoff Rea in the Hastings District Court on Thursday.

It was also ordered to pay $25,000 in emotional harm reparation to family of the boy, who suffered complex fractures to his hip bones and was hospitalised for a month.

He has since made a full recovery.

The boy was taken to the orchard in January 2022 and told to stay on a couch in the packhouse, but wandered off and was struck by the forklift, which was reversing.

The forklift was being driven by a 14-year-old worker and was poorly maintained with no basic safety features such as reversing lights, mirrors, flashing lights, or a horn.

Workers under 15 are not allowed to drive vehicles on work sites and the prosecuting authority, WorkSafe, said the company had not done enough to verify his age.

“This case is really about insufficient oversight on an orchard operation,” Judge Rea said.

The level of the fine was set after Judge Rea invited counsel Sarah Backhouse, for WorkSafe, and Thomas Cunningham, for the orchardists, to agree on a sum that the partnership could afford.

The fine has to be paid within three years.

WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Paul Budd, said children should not be taken to work sites.

“Naturally children want to explore, try new things, and push boundaries,” he said.

“As we head into the holiday season, this case is a reminder that children are always at risk on work sites.”

WorkSafe said risk management by the business was “verbal and informal” because of language barriers.

The names of the injured boy, his grandparents and the 14-year-old worker were suppressed.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.