Widow's $60,000 compo after fall

An Ashburton seed processing company has been ordered to pay $60,000 to the widow of a maintenance worker killed when he fell through a skylight.

South Island Seed Dressing and Storage Co Ltd yesterday pleaded guilty in the Ashburton District Court to a charge of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the man's safety.

In addition to the reparation, the company was fined $5000.

The victim had been working on the factory roof installing ducting last August when he fell through a corrugated plastic skylight.

Department of Labour chief adviser, health and safety, Mike Cosman said plastic skylights were known to be brittle, and not able to take the weight of a man.

The employer of another man working on the roof, SPM Ltd, was charged for putting its worker at the same risk of a fall and fined $7500.

- NZPA