$500k fine after footpath death

More than two years after an elderly man died after falling from a mobility scooter on a damaged footpath one of the companies responsible for his health and safety has been fined $500,000.

The company, Shannon Thompson Concrete Pumps, didn’t show up for sentencing at the Manukau District Court yesterday, Worksafe chief inspector Hayden Mander said. “This company had already been convicted in May last year for obstructing our investigation into this entirely avoidable death.” In March 2017 the man was riding his mobility scooter on a footpath near the development of a Papatoetoe housing site and fell from it when he hit a damaged section of footpath. The company provided the concrete pump to the site.

An investigation found Shannon Thompson Concrete Pumps had failed to work with other companies on site to identify the damaged footpath as a risk. No site specific risk assessment was undertaken, Worksafe said.

The company showed “total lack of regard for the family” and its role in the death was reflected in the size of the fine, Mander said. “There was no deduction from the starting point of $500,000 as the judge did not find that there were any applicable mitigating factors. We hope today’s sentencing can offer the victim’s family some closure.”

Last year, YSB Group was fined $100,000 for their involvement, and was ordered to pay reparation of $100,000 on behalf of both companies.