Love secret to dad’s survival
Death looked likely when Jahden Nelson was electrocuted
A scaffolder who had both arms amputated after an electric shock on a West Auckland building site says he’s slowly healing and happy to be alive for the sake of his three young children.
In an exclusive interview from Middlemore Hospital, Jahden Nelson, 28, told the Weekend Herald he had come to terms with his life-changing injuries and looked forward to returning home to his family to tackle what lay ahead.
He credits his “miracle” survival to the medical staff who have cared for him over the last three months, and the unfaltering love of his partner Santana Tierney and their children aged 1, 2 and 3.
“They gave me motivation. I guess they were the reason that I’m still here. They kind of pushed me through this,” Nelson said.
Nelson had a heart attack, internal injuries and burns to 25-35 per cent of his body in April when a metal pole he was holding touched high-voltage overhead lines on a Massey work site, sending an electric current through his body.
Due to his horrific injuries, he lost both arms, has spent months in hospital, undergone more than 30 operations and faces years of rehabilitation.
The experienced scaffolder said he thought the power lines had been disconnected or “sleeved” to safeguard workers and was stunned to learn he and his colleagues had been exposed to live wires.
“I assumed they would have been turned off,” Nelson said.
“I’m in absolute shock that we weren’t told because now I’m in hospital having to deal with the position that I’m in.”
A WorkSafe investigation is under way.
Nelson said he had no recollection of the accident, nor the week preceding it. He remembers waking up two weeks later from an induced coma to news he was a double amputee.
“I was kind of like shocked that I had lost my arms,” he said. “I’ve been told that I’m lucky to be alive.”
Tierney, 23, had been his “world” since the accident, remaining positive while juggling the children and hospital visits.
“She’s been here since the start and she’s still staying by my side.”
The couple’s eldest daughter was aware “dad is sick”, but their two youngest didn’t yet comprehend what had happened.
Nelson thanked all the supporters who had sent their love and contributed to a fundraising page set up to aid his recovery.
“It means a lot to me and my family. I can’t say thank you enough to all the people who donated. I would have been happy with nothing. I’m just happy to be here.”
Nelson has one more operation to endure. He will then focus on his rehabilitation and hopes to return home in September.
Asked if he had a fighting spirit, Nelson replies: “You could say that. I’m kind of stubborn. I wouldn’t give up without a fight.”
Tierney told the Weekend Herald they were initially told Nelson was unlikely to survive. Doctors said they had treated just five people with injuries as severe, including one of the Whakaari/White Island victims, and only one had lived.
“So for him to pull through the way he did, although he lost his arms, for him to still be here and have the opportunity to live a normal life is really amazing, and for our children he’s still here to be their father,” Tierney said.
The Weekend Herald can also reveal Nelson is celebrating a big ACC win.
The Herald reported last month that on top of his injuries, he and his family were fighting ACC for proper compensation due to his employer Supercity Scaffolding classifying him as a contractor.
They claimed Nelson, who earned $27 a hour and had to supply his own tools, was being underpaid by up to $14,000 a year by ACC — short-changing his family by hundreds of dollars a week.
Nelson’s supporters, including Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford and leading health and safety lawyer Hazel Armstrong, said the situation was unfair. They were planning to challenge ACC’s determination and seek a law change to protect vulnerable workers.
However, following the Herald’s coverage, the scaffolding company agreed to retrospectively reclassify Nelson as an employee and ACC has subsequently reviewed his entitlements.
Twyford told the Herald this had effectively doubled Nelson’s weekly compensation.
“Getting Jahden treated as an employee is
a win for him. It will make a big difference for Jahden and his family. It is great that ACC were able to work with the employer to do the right thing in this case.”
However, Twyford said the case highlighted a wider, systemic problem in how workers — many earning barely minimum wage — were classified as contractors, meaning they didn’t get holiday pay.
“It exposes an injustice in this country’s labour laws: that people who are in reality wage workers get treated by employers and the law as self-employed . . . It is cheaper for employers, but workers lose many of their rights at work, and in Jahden’s case lose out on accident compensation when they need it most.”
The Government confirmed last month it was working to strengthen employment laws to prevent thousands of Kiwi workers being misclassified by bosses, and ensure they received minimum entitlements of employment.
Supercity Scaffolding director Claire Attard said she could not comment while the accident remained under investigation by WorkSafe.
But a statement from the company’s lawyer confirmed it had “assisted ACC in its reassessment of Jahden’s entitlements and was very pleased to be advised of the outcome, knowing how this will benefit him”.
The company had been paying Nelson the equivalent of 40 hours a week since the accident, and was now calculating his KiwiSaver and accrued annual leave entitlements.
It was “satisfied that all current workers are correctly classified but will keep this under review”.
Minister for ACC Carmel Sepuloni said she was happy ACC and Nelson’s employer had worked together to rectify the situation.
“Jahden will now receive the full support of ACC as he recovers from his injuries and I sincerely wish him all the best in his recovery.”
She said the case reflected a “deeper problem” with employment law and who was classified as a contractor.
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood was working on a solution to fix it.
“Once that goes through Parliament it will be easier for ACC to make these determinations and cause less distress for accident victims such as Jahden.”