The KiwiRail foreman was working on a section of track outside Greymouth on August 22, 2018 when the tragedy happened.
The KiwiRail foreman was working on a section of track outside Greymouth on August 22, 2018 when the tragedy happened.
A railway worker who lost his leg in a horror track accident will get $135,000 in compensation – and his bosses KiwiRail and a local contractor involved in the tragedy have been hit with hefty fines.
Paul Thomson, a 60-year-old father-of-four, was working as the ganger, or foreman, on a track team replacing old railway sleepers on a section of track outside Greymouth on August 22, 2018 when the accident happened.
It was a routine job, especially for an experienced worker who'd been on the railways for more than 30 years.
Thomson, who has a "significant hearing impairment" and was not wearing hearing aids, had his back turned when a piece of machinery – an excavator with high rail attachments owned and operated by a local company – reversed and struck him.
He was rushed to Christchurch Hospital with serious leg injuries. An emergency operation to save his left leg was unsuccessful and it was later amputated below the knee.
WorkSafe investigated the accident and decided not to prosecute.
However, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) also investigated and did decide to prosecute Thomson's employers KiwiRail Holdings Ltd and the local contractor MBD Contracting Ltd under the Railways Act 2005. They were charged with failing to take reasonable, practicable steps to prevent the accident.
A railway worker needed his leg amputated after an accident with an excavator while he was working on railway lines near Greymouth in 2018. Photo / Supplied
In a judgement released to the Herald today, Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen O'Driscoll issued severe fines and reparation orders to both companies, which had earlier pleaded guilty.
KiwiRail had already paid an insurance payment of $95,000 to its worker.
Now, it must pay an extra $20,000 in reparation – and also pay a fine of $137,500.
MBD Contracting must also pay Thomson $20,000, along with a $75,000 fine.
Judge O'Driscoll earlier heard from Thomson who described how the accident had drastically changed his life.
Everyday activities – walking with his wife on the beach, shopping, renovating his house, whitebaiting – had been severely hampered or could not be done at all.
And although KiwiRail had given him an office role at its Greymouth depot, he missed his old job.
"It hurts every day to see the trucks going out in the morning to do the track work and wishing I was out there with the guys," said Thomson, who became emotional while reading out his victim impact statement.
His permanent disability had knocked his self-confidence, and left him self-conscious of his prosthetic leg.
Although he accepted his life had changed and would never be the same, every night when he removed his prosthetic, he asked himself: "Why me?"
Thomson said it had been a "long, hard recovery" and although he was not angry with KiwiRail, he was disappointed the right things were not in place to prevent the accident.
However, he said he believed KiwiRail was going in the right direction in terms of safety.
NZTA prosecutor Sam McMullan said there were failures over ensuring the safety of workers that day, including those issued around exclusion zones, visibility, and communication. The excavator should also have had sensors or alarms for reversing.
KiwiRail and MBD Contracting has since undertaken several steps to address the causes of the accident and improve health and safety, the court heard.
"This sentencing sends a clear message that rail operators and their subcontractors have a fundamental duty to ensure the safety of all people working on the rail system," Waka Kotahi Safer Rail senior manager Ray McMillan said.
"A worker was badly injured and has had his quality of life significantly affected by this avoidable incident. It is a stark reminder of the importance of having a robust safety system that is well implemented to safeguard all workers against the inherent hazards of working on the rail network."
