WorkSafe New Zealand | WorkSafe is cautioning all businesses that work at height to review their safety systems, following sentencing for a fall that nearly killed a KiwiRail employee.

The man fell 10 metres while installing a telecommunications pole in Whanganui in October 2023. He suffered a torn artery, a torn liver, a broken sternum, a punctured left lung, nine fractured vertebrae, and five fractured ribs. He later developed blood clots in his legs which required surgery to remove.

WorkSafe’s investigation identified fundamental failures in how KiwiRail managed the introduction of the telecommunications pole. The Oclyte pole was a new design for KiwiRail, and different from the wooden poles workers had previously used. Despite this significant change, there was no detailed specific risk assessment conducted, no dedicated procedures were developed, and workers lacked training in risk assessment for complex work at height.

The investigation found a fall arrest system was installed but not in use at the time and climbing pegs on the pole had been incorrectly installed. KiwiRail did also not provide safer methods, such as a mobile elevated work platform, for the job.

KiwiRail has been fined $220,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $28,500 for its breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

WorkSafe New Zealand | Businesses and workers must steer clear of power lines and plan work carefully, WorkSafe New Zealand says, following sentencing for a timber delivery that went tragically wrong.

Wesley Talakai was delivering timber to a residential site in Greenhithe when the truck-mounted crane he was operating struck live lines in August 2023. The 38-year-old died at the scene.

Mr Talakai raised concerns with his employer, NZ Solid, about limited space at the site and proximity to overhead power lines, however the company gave him a gate code to access the site and continue the work. The crane was operating just 2.5 metres from live lines – well inside the legal minimum of four metres. NZ Solid did not obtain consent from the line owner to work within that distance. The company has now been sentenced for its health and safety failures.

In a victim impact statement, Natasha Talakai told the court that the time since her husband’s death had been “excruciatingly difficult, exhausting, painful, and lonely”.

“This was a preventable death,” says WorkSafe’s regional manager, Brad Duggan.

“Working near power lines is a well-known hazard, and there are clear rules and guidance in place for a reason.”

WorkSafe’s investigation found serious failures in how the company planned and executed the job. It relied on verbal instructions, had an inadequate lift plan, and failed to properly assess the risks posed by overhead power lines.

“Risk management isn’t a box-ticking exercise,” adds Brad Duggan. “It’s about making sure workers go home safe. That means planning the job, knowing the limits of your equipment, maintaining safe distances, and never assuming it’ll be fine.”

NZ Solid Limited was fined $330,000, having been charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and (2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Being a PCBU, having a duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Wesley Talakai, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely undertaking a delivery of timber packets, did fail to comply with that duty and that failure exposed workers to a risk of serious injury or death.

WorkSafe New Zealand | Forestry roads nationwide are set to become safer, thanks to a new agreement between WorkSafe New Zealand and one of the country’s largest forest management companies.

Forest360 Limited has agreed to fund a range of actions in response to a death on one of its sites. Greg Stevens, 59, was killed when his logging truck and trailer rolled while negotiating a tight bend on a Coromandel forestry road in May 2023.

WorkSafe’s investigation found the design, maintenance, and risk assessment of the road by Forest360 was inadequate.

The company’s funded response forms a binding commitment, known as an enforceable undertaking (EU), which WorkSafe has accepted. It includes:

  • Funding research to develop a method to assess forestry road safety.
  • Sponsoring software development to help forest owners and operators identify unsafe road conditions.
  • Promoting the software and sharing insights with the forestry sector, including at conferences and through the Forest Industry Safety Council.
  • Forest360 will donate to education programmes through Discover Forestry, and to Wāhine in Forestry.
  • Amends paid to Greg Stevens’ widow.

Forestry is a priority for WorkSafe as it had the highest fatality rate of any sector in 2024. Its role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities to keep people healthy and safe.

This is the first time WorkSafe has accepted such a commitment from the forestry sector. EUs are a way for WorkSafe to hold businesses accountable for health and safety breaches. WorkSafe monitors progress on the agreed commitments and can seek a court order if they are not upheld.

Two other businesses remain before the court in relation to the death of Gregory Albert Stevens.

WorkSafe New Zealand | A forestry subcontractor was failed by poor risk management from the two businesses above him, both of which have been sentenced for their inaction.

Misha Tremel (39) was killed while manually felling windthrown pine on behalf of Turoa Logging Limited for Pulley Contracting Limited. WorkSafe found Turoa Logging did not reassess its harvesting plan or ensure safe felling practices, and Pulley Contracting failed to audit Turoa Logging’s compliance.

Both companies were fined a combined NZ$335,680 and ordered to pay reparation for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

WorkSafe New Zealand is again urging the forestry sector to improve safety after another worker death emerged in court.

Jake Duncan was killed when a “plug” log dislodged and hurtled 325 metres down a hill at Tangoio near Napier in June 2021. The log had been placed as a temporary bridge and unexpectedly gave way.

The pre-harvest risk assessment listed only two hazards and failed to consider the risk of the plug dislodging. Better controls should have been in place to protect workers.

Logged on Logging 2020 Limited was fined $332,187 in reparations for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Forest Management (NZ) Ltd had been sentenced earlier for unrelated failures.

Data from ACC shows there have been 200,000 claims paid for people injured while working from home since early 2019.

New claims trended down from 35,896 in 2019 to 35,336 in 2021, 30,711 in 2023, and 24,309 year-to-date. Active claims peaked at almost 50,000 in 2019.

Most injuries were due to lifting and carrying (6,720 YTD), followed by loss of balance and punctures. Soft tissue injuries were most common, with fractures/dislocations (770+) and burns (~300) also reported. Injury sites included the lower back, spine, and fingers/thumbs.

Total work-from-home claims between 2019–2024 cost over $800 million. ACC lead James Whitaker noted that slips, trips, and falls are the biggest contributors to home injuries. Legal expert Jim Roberts said employers must assess and manage home-working hazards as part of their duty to ensure staff safety.

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