Woman’s fall through manhole ‘avoidable’

A manhole cover that had never been inspected by Rotorua Lakes Council flipped and trapped an elderly woman in an incident that has been described as ‘‘completely avoidable, and a direct result of negligence’’.

Stuff has obtained a heavily redacted report from council into the incident, which took place on January 28 this year.

While the name of the woman involved and the specific location were among the redacted information, Stuff spoke to the woman’s husband about the incident.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said his wife was walking at the rear of a commercial property and stood on the manhole cover, which then ‘‘flipped’’ upwards, trapping her legs.

‘‘My wife just went through, both legs stuck,’’ he said. ‘‘She was so upset, really hurt and shocked.’’

He said his wife spent around 30 minutes trapped in the manhole as they had to wait for fire brigade staff to come and lift her out.

‘‘She was taken to hospital by ambulance staff, spending the night there.

The council report notes the woman ‘‘suffered multiple abrasions, contusions, two deep lacerations and a jarred hip and knee, and was taken to hospital where her injuries were scrubbed and medication and vaccinations administered’’.

Stuff also spoke to a witness to the incident, who also wished to remain anonymous.

They said they were walking and talking to the woman when she just fell down the hole.

‘‘She was traumatised, I should say, and I was a bit shocked. It just flipped over.’’

The report also notes the root cause of the fall.

‘‘No inspections/condition assessments had ever been carried out on the manhole due to InfraCore using an outdated asset inspection checklist that did not include this asset’’.

The report said that ‘‘to manage the risk of manhole collapse, these assets are inspected and a ‘condition assessment’ is done annually by InfraCore’’.

The report also notes an investigation by Fulton Hogan found ‘‘the manhole lid itself was in good condition, but that the cast ring/frame has split in two places resulting in the lid being unstable’’.

While the husband told his wife continues to recover at home, more serious health issues were flagged in a partly redacted email included in the report to an InfraCore staff member and a number of councillors.

‘‘She is now resting at home suffering from ongoing pain, swelling, significant bruising and discomfort,’’ the email said.

The email writer also asks for assurance that ‘‘those at fault will be held accountable . . . injuries were completely avoidable, and a direct result of negligence on behalf of the council’s contractors, causing serious harm and risk’’.

A council spokesperson told

Stuff the incident had been referred to WorkSafe, though a spokesperson from the watchdog said ‘‘it was not considered a notifiable event’’.

The council report notes a number of measures have been taken in the wake of the incident.