A Lower Hutt steel manufacturer has been fined $52,000 and ordered to pay $15,000 in reparation, after one of its workers had three fingers amputated in a work accident.
Kiwi Steel was sentenced in the Lower Hutt District Court on Friday for failing to ensure the victim's safety.
The worker had his fingers cut off when trying to clear a blockage on a cut-to-length guillotine.
The Health and Safety Group, which laid the charge, says a guard that would have prevented the accident, was not used, despite it being provided.
Chief inspector Keith Stewart says the hazard was not identified by Kiwi Steel, and nor had the victim been instructed to not operate the device without a guard.
