MEDIA ReleaSE
9 august 2011

Goodman Fielder Employee Loses Fingers in Machine

Goodman Fielder New Zealand Limited was today fined $37,500 following an accident at its Champion Flour Mills in Christchurch where an employee was seriously injured because the machine he was working on wasn’t properly guarded.

The company has already paid the victim over $43,000 as a contribution to his financial and emotional harm, but the Judge has ordered Goodman Fielder to pay a further $15,000 in reparations following the accident on 27 January last year.

The employee lifted a perspex guard on a milling machine to inspect the rollers and as he did this his left hand somehow became caught in the moving rollers.

“While this employee managed to free his hand from the rollers, all four fingers on his left hand as well as the first joint of his thumb were amputated,” says the Department of Labour’s Christchurch Service Manager, Margaret Radford.

“We are seeing far too many of these accidents – and cases such as this where employees have been left with life long injuries because their employers did not ensure machines were properly guarded. It’s simply not good enough.

“Even though the machine had guards fitted, they weren’t adequate. The appropriate guarding would have prevented the employee from accessing the rollers while they were moving. Alternatively the company could have fitted fixed guards which would have prevented access to the rollers completely.

“Every dangerous part of machinery in a workplace which employees or others could have access to must be properly guarded to stop this type of accident happening,” Ms Radford says.

Since the accident the company has fitted fixed guards on the machine to prevent a similar accident.

ENDS

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