An aluminium contractor has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $15,000 reparation to a worker who was blinded in one eye on his second day at the company.
The penalty was ordered by Tauranga District Court on Thursday.
Last May, Kerry Bruce Duggan, trading as Mr Alifix, was working with the employee removing windowpanes from the gymnasium at Tauranga Boys' College.
The court heard that a chisel the worker was using to remove rubber seals slipped and hit his eye.
The Department of Labour says the risk could have been reduced by a few simple measures such as using a proper tool to remove the seals or wearing protective eyewear.
