Prosecution Details

Being an employer, failed so far as was practicable to provide and maintain a working environment in which its employees were not exposed to hazards and in particular failed to provide such training to its employees as was necessary to enable them to perform their work in such a manner that they were not exposed to hazards.

The accident occurred when the injured person was working on the top platform of a scaffold, at a height exceeding 4 metres, when one wheel (caster) assembly collapsed. The collar to the threaded wheel shaft was not in the locked position (refer to photograph) and when the scaffold was loaded in this region the scaffold slipped down the threaded wheel shaft. The scaffold was not erected by a certificated scaffolder as required by the legislation. The injured person's injuries included a broken right radius and ulna after jumping clear of the aluminium mobile scaffold as it collapsed.

His Worship said that clearly the defendants were not uncaring employers and that they appeared to be generally aware of their responsibilities to their workers. In this case, His Worship said, there had been a breakdown of that caring, perhaps due to several factors, perhaps only due to one. His Worship said that the employees had erected the scaffold with some degree of negligence because they had not been properly advised. His Worship took into account the safety strategies in place before and after the accident and the fact that there were not previous offences.

The defendant is one of three companies acting in partnership, the business name of which is Metrowest Electrical and Communications.

The defendant pleaded guilty.