Silver Ferns Farm worker loses right hand after it was crushed in machinery

Brian Wilson lost his hand from an industrial accident at Silver Fern Farms' Takapau plant.

A worker who lost his right hand after it was crushed in machinery at a meatworks descended into a “very dark place” afterwards as he struggled with anger, anxiety and depression.

Brian Wilson was in the Hastings District Court on Friday as his employer, Silver Fern Farms, was fined $283,500 under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Wilson described how he shut down mentally for months after being maimed at the company’s Takapau plant in Central Hawke’s Bay on February 22, 2021.

He described staying at home, locking himself away, and trying to cover up his arm and keep his head down when he went out in public.

“I try not to stand out so people won’t notice,” he said.

“I locked myself away and stayed at home in a sort of hellish limbo.”

For a long time, he felt as if he had no future. He felt “under attack from my own mind”. He said he was brought back from the brink after reaching out to the Amputees Federation of New Zealand support network.

Brian Wilson lost his hand from an industrial accident at Silver Fern Farms' Takapau plant.

Wilson, who is 50 years old and has worked in the meat industry nearly all his adult life, said he suffered nightmares and flashbacks, and nerve pain which kicked in at night and reduced him to tears and anger.

“Even sleeping has become exhausting for me,” he said.

He said he could not look in the mirror for too long, with his forearm gone.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Simon Limmer was in court when the company repeated its apology to Brian Wilson.

Before he was injured, Wilson had been a keen cook. Now, trying to cook with one hand was too difficult so he hardly ever cooked and mainly bought pre-prepared meals.

Wilson said outside court that he was the only one of his siblings who was right-handed. Simple tasks now took longer but he had been teaching himself to write with his left hand.

Silver Fern Farms’ chief executive Simon Limmer, other senior staff and a board member were in the court for the sentencing hearing before Judge John McDonald.

The charge of failing in a duty to ensure health and safety, to which the company pleaded guilty, was brought by the regulatory agency WorkSafe, represented by counsel Emma Jeffs.

Judge McDonald imposed the fine of $283,500 but declined to make a reparation order for the emotional harm suffered by Wilson after hearing of the company’s efforts to support him.

Silver Fern Farms has already paid $50,000 towards Wilson’s dream of one day owning his own house, has topped up his ACC payments to his former wage, and has funded a $100,000 state-of-the-art prosthetic hand.

Wilson said he had returned to work some hours at the plant, issuing protective equipment and doing safety checks.

He had also been volunteering at the SPCA.

Through its counsel, Joseph Lill, the company reiterated in court an apology it had earlier made to Wilson in person.

The court was told that the machinery that crushed Wilson’s hand was safe and compliant in normal operation.

However, on the day he was injured, a plastic guard had been unscrewed and removed while the machine was under maintenance.

An electrician asked Wilson to turn the machine on to test it, and Wilson was trying to wipe away some residue from the machinery when it operated.

Wilson was taken to Hutt Hospital with crush injuries, and his hand was amputated.

The judge said there was a great deal of remorse within the company for what had happened to Wilson.

Limmer told NZME: “We are pleased to see he is doing well and will continue to work with him.”

Silver Fern Farms has 14 plants around New Zealand and 6500 employees.

Nine hundred people work at the Takapau plant at the peak of the season.