A business has been ordered to pay reparations of $43,000 after a man replacing a roof at an Auckland school fell 3.6m to the concrete ground below.
The 54-year-old worker was replacing a roof at Glenfield Intermediate School when he fell in January 2020, WorkSafe said.
The man had tried to steady himself on a guardrail, installed by TPL Access Limited, when it detached due to improper installation.
He sustained a hematoma by his left eye, two fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, a fractured vertebra, and multiple pelvic bone fractures.
He spent 10 days in hospital and did not fully recover for more than a year.
A WorkSafe investigation found TPL Access Limited should have ensured the roof edge protection was installed in line with the manufacturer's guidelines and industry standards, by ensuring it was safe and fit for use.
In her reserved decision, North Shore District Court Judge Anna Fitzgibbon said the improper installation of the roof edge protection "exposed the victim to a risk of death or serious injury from a fall from height".
Judge Fitzgibbon described TPL Access Limited as having "a moderate to high level of culpability" for its actions.
The business was fined $100,000, to be paid over five years. It was also ordered to pay reparations of $43,000 to the victim.
WorkSafe said the worker was lucky to survive the incident.
"This case is a clear example that everyone has responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act, including businesses upstream from the work itself. If you contribute to unsafe work you will be held to account," WorkSafe area investigation manager Danielle Henry said.
"There is a duty to consider the health and safety of the people who will ultimately be reliant on your product when installing, building, or commissioning structures for use at work. Upstream duties sit with the business which has the most influence over the matter at hand, to make sure all workers at all steps throughout the chain are kept healthy and safe."
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