A Northland avocado orchard has been ordered to pay a trainee worker $62,185 after he suffered permanent damage when a high-tensile wire snapped and struck him in the eye.

The 20-year-old trainee and his supervisor were repairing the fence at the Mapua Avocados orchard in Houhora, 41km north of Kaitaia, when the high-tensile fencing wire snapped, leaving the young man requiring two surgeries and with permanent vision loss.

Neither the casual worker nor his supervisor were wearing protective eyewear and the worker reported seeing multiple supervisors not wearing personal protective equipment [PPE] while fencing.

Mapua Avocados was investigated by WorkSafe over the April 2021 incident and reported a number of failures, including a similar incident just one month earlier that had gone unreported.

WorkSafe’s investigation found Mapua Avocados had no formal training or supervision in place to monitor the safe use of PPE when workers were performing duties, and supervisors were often left to “fill in the gaps” by managing the wearing of PPE in the field.

Mapua Avocados was charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and found guilty before Judge Singh in the North Shore District Court on Tuesday.

The maximum penalty for exposing workers to a serious work injury is a $1.5 million fine.

WorkSafe investigation manager Danielle Henry said information on correct PPE such as eye protection has been readily accessible for years now.

“The use of PPE is entrenched in every modern safe work practice. Businesses do not meet their obligations to workers by viewing safety as optional, and workers should be wearing PPE where they are exposed to risk. Businesses are required to model and champion safe work.”

WorkSafe found that Mapua Avocados could have prevented the injury but instead had avoided any type of guidance in the use of PPE on site.

Judge Singh found the orchard guilty and ordered reparations to the victim of $62,185. A fine of $240,000 would have been imposed but was reduced to zero due to financial circumstances and its inability to pay any fine.

WorkSafe stressed that it is a requirement for employers to provide effective protection equipment.

NZME have contacted Mapua Orchards who are yet to respond.

- Shannon Pitman, Open Justice