15 Jun 2016

Quarry to pay $100k over worker's death

11:37 am on 15 June 2016

A quarry company and its director has been ordered to pay $100,000 to the family of a worker killed on the job.

diggers at a quarry

Photo: 123RF

The 24-year-old father died at the Bay of Plenty quarry in April last year, after he was thrown from a fully laden dump truck.

The Tauranga District Court has ordered his employer Oropi Quarries to pay $80,000 to his family as compensation for emotional harm, while director Catherine Renner has been told to pay $20,000.

The court has also fined them a total of more than $63,000.

WorkSafe said the worker's death was a tragic and preventable death.

It said there were significant issues with vehicle maintenance, failures to train the worker, a lack of policy on wearing seatbelts and a lack of supervision.