An Ashburton seed processing company has been ordered to pay $60,000 to the widow of a maintenance worker killed when he fell through a skylight.
South Island Seed Dressing and Storage Co Ltd yesterday pleaded guilty in the Ashburton District Court to a charge of failing to take all practicable
steps to ensure the man's safety.
In addition to the reparation, the company was fined $5000.
The victim had been working on the factory roof installing ducting last August when he fell through a corrugated plastic skylight.
Department of Labour chief adviser, health and safety, Mike Cosman said plastic skylights were known to be brittle, and not able to take the weight of a man.
The employer of another man working on the roof, SPM Ltd, was charged for putting its worker at the same risk of a fall and fined $7500.
- NZPA