Woman’s hand nearly severed at slaughterhouse

A woman whose hand was nearly severed in a workplace injury became so distraught while reading her statement in court that a lawyer had to step in and read it for her.

The 33-year-old mother of four was working as a slaughterhouse floor labourer at the Napier processing plant of Fresh Meats NZ Ltd on the morning of November 22, 2018, when her hand got caught in a production chain.

She was cleaning the chain when her arm went through a ‘’pinch point’’, where two chains come together.

Addressing Napier District Court yesterday, the woman, whose name is suppressed, recalled seeing her lower right arm “almost completely chopped off”. It appeared to be hanging on by a piece of skin, she said.

It took co-workers 10 minutes to free her from the machine. She has been unable to work since the incident and described the physical and emotional pain she and her family had suffered.

As she spoke of the impact her loss of earnings had had on her family, she became too upset to continue. The rest of her statement was read by WorkSafe lawyer Mark Williams.

Fresh Meats pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to keep the woman and other employees safe at work.

Judge Gordon Matenga fined the company $253,125. He ordered it to pay the victim $30,000 reparation and $10,000 in consequential loss. It was also ordered to pay $2500 for legal costs.

The maximum fine for this offending is $1.5 million, and WorkSafe told the judge he should adopt a starting point of $500,000 before making discounts for mitigating factors and the guilty plea.

Fresh Meats lawyer Neil Beadle sought a starting point of $420,000.

The company admitted that there should have been a guard at the pinch point that would prevent workers being exposed to the risk.

The woman has undergone numerous surgeries. Her hand and wrist were reconstructed but she has limited movement and is unlikely to ever have full use of her right, dominant, hand.

Judge Matenga noted the extensive nature of her injuries and the fact she was unable to work.

‘‘She feels a sense of loss, of embarrassment, ashamed, she feels that – this is not her words but my interpretation

of her victim impact statement – useless,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not just the physical scars which are on her hand now ... but also the emotional scars, which are still very much with her.’’

He noted the company’s good record, its co-operation with WorkSafe, the fact it had paid the victim a lump sum figure of $5000 and $150 a week since the incident. He also spoke of the company directors’ remorse and the fact it had remedied faults with its operation.

Fresh Meats NZ is wholly owned by Integrated Foods Ltd. It is a Hawke’s Bay-based slaughter and processing company, which employed about 100 staff at the time of the incident.