Ethan Perham-Turner was killed when timber framing weighing 350kg fell on him at a residential building site in Ōmokoroa in March 2022. The 19-year-old was just four months into an apprenticeship at the time.
Ethan Perham-Turner was killed when timber framing weighing 350kg fell on him at a residential building site in Ōmokoroa in March 2022. The 19-year-old was just four months into an apprenticeship at the time.
“Sometimes it’s like a gut punch that forces all the air out of your lungs.”
That’s how a Tauranga mother describes the impact of the loss of her son, apprentice builder Ethan Thomas Perham-Turner, who was killed after unbraced timber framing fell on him at a Ōmokoroa worksite in March 2022.
He had tried to stop two frames from falling over but slipped off the edge of a dirt bank. The top plate of the frames struck him on the back of his neck and head area inflicting fatal injuries.
The 19-year-old was just four months into his apprenticeship with Inspire Building Limited which had been contracted by Thorne Group B.O.P Limited to construct dwellings at the Te Kaha Plc property.
WorkSafe found that the businesses should have consulted on the timber framing installation plan and ensured a mechanical aid (such as a Hiab crane truck) was used to install the framing. The safety risk was heightened by the framing being manually installed around the site, and a temporary support brace had been removed shortly before the fatal incident.
The companies were sentenced in the Tauranga District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of failing to comply with their duty to ensure the health and safety of their workers.
Judge Paul Geoghegan fined The Thorne Group $210,000 and Inspire $30,000. A $130,000 of emotional harm reparation to be paid to Ethan’s family, with Inspire paying 60 per cent of the award and Thorne Group the balance.
Jason and Sheleace Turner, holding a photograph of their 19-year-old son Ethan Perham-Turner outside Tauranga District Court on January 31 after two building firms were sentenced over his death. Ethan was killed on March 30, 2022 after unbraced timber framing fell on him. Photo / Sandra Conchie
The companies also have to pay another $10,000 emotional harm reparation to a work colleague of Ethan’s, as well as $5706.30 in consequential losses, with Inspire to pay 60 per cent of this award and Thorne Group the rest. WorkSafe costs of 11,712.02 must also be paid.
Judge Geoghegan said assessing the sum to be paid to the family for the loss of a loved one in these circumstances was an “impossible task”.
The judge said he had assessed Inspire’s level of culpability for the tragedy as greater than Thorne Group, which admitted it had failed to adequately monitor the effectiveness of Inspire’s safety systems in terms of timber framing.
Ethan’s devastated mother Sheleace Turner, supported by her husband Jason, Ethan’s sister Charlie, his grandmother Wanda Penham and grandfather Dennis Turner read victim impact statements to the court.
Sheleace Turner placed a large framed photograph of her son on a seat next to the public gallery.
“Ethan brought a beautiful layer of light and warmth to our lives that I had never known before him. From his first breath and throughout his short 19 years and up until his last breath he was someone who only ever added good to the world and to the people who crossed his path.”
Shelaece Turner said her son was the “happiest person” she had ever known.
“People loved being around Ethan. They were drawn to him. He had this ability to make you feel like a better version of yourself. People would always compliment me on what an amazing, human Ethan was.
“He was kind, caring, generous, fun, humorous, confident, committed, creative, imaginative, honest, ambitious, loyal, and dependable.
“I am so proud of Ethan.”
The devastated mother said she questioned how a healthy teenage boy could go to work and never come home.
“This question often steals hours of every day for me. Ethan was an apprentice builder and the youngest and least experienced builder on the site.
“There is no greater loss than losing a child ... Ethan should be alive and he should be enjoying the amazing life he created. He had an incredible future ahead of him and so many hopes and dreams. Ethan left this world feeling valued and loved. He was a fabulous brother to his siblings and adored his grandparents.
“I miss everything about him.
“Our lives are altered forever, and we will never know a life without grief,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s like a gut punch that forces all the air out of your lungs.”
She had struggled with her mental health since the tragedy and had to give up work.
She told directors of the companies they got to go home after the sentencing hearing and this chapter of their lives was closed.
“We’ve drawn the short straw, and go home to the same heartache that we have felt since the day Ethan was killed and to a life without our beautiful son.”
“There is no tougher sentence ... We are left with a small urn that holds Ethan’s ashes and a few boxes of his special things that we cannot part with and photos that spark memories, and we have the light and warmth that Ethan wove into our lives and hearts.”
Ethan’s grandmother Wanda Perham and his grandfather Dennis Turner told the court they had suffered an “unimaginable” loss and would never get over the death of their grandson from what could never be described as an accident.
In a written statement WorkSafe NZ said Perham-Turner’s death was yet another example of why the construction sector needed to “up its game”.
”The death of a worker so young is an indictment on the construction sector, WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Paul West said.
”Ethan was new to the job and should have been provided with what he needed to be safe.
”It is unacceptable that companies are not identifying the risks and providing workers with a safe workplace.
“We can only hope the death of a very young apprentice might motivate the step change required to improve the sector’s health and safety performance,” he said.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
