NZ worker's six-meter plunge triggers industry alert

WorkSafe New Zealand is advising workplaces to recognise the dangers involved when employees are working at elevated positions, in light of the sentencing of a Wellington firm whose worker was severely injured in April 2023 due to a six-meter fall from an unsafe and slippery roof.

The man, aged 38, had been employed for merely two months and possessed no experience or training related to working at heights.

He underwent a six-month recovery period in the hospital following a traumatic brain injury and several fractured bones.

“This was a preventable fall which has permanently impacted a young father’s quality of life and job prospects,” says WorkSafe principal inspector, Paul Budd.

“Falls from height are a well-known risk and there is no excuse for not putting proper protections in place – especially in bad weather. If the work needs to be postponed until conditions are more favourable, then do so.”

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