Widow wants justice for lift shaft death
In the year since he was crushed to death in a lift shaft, Brendon Scheib has missed one of his four daughters getting engaged, the graduation of another, and his wife taking up his passion and learning to sail.
Now, his grieving widow Deb Scheib is vowing to be a voice for her dead husband.
Brendon was killed on January 14, 2016, while working for Otis Elevator Company in a lift shaft in the T&G building, also known as the Harcourts building in Wellington.
The 54-year-old lift technician from Newlands, who had more than 27 years experience, was killed when an elevator descended while he was working in the lift shaft.
His widow, Deb, has spoken out for the first time since his death, saying she plans to launch a private prosecution against Otis over the incident.
She said she knew something was wrong when her husband failed to come home about 5pm like he did every other day.
She started making calls to Otis, frantically trying to work out where her husband of almost 25 years was. ‘‘I knew he was in a [lift] pit somewhere.’’
It was not until 8 o’clock that night she finally heard something had happened to her husband; at exactly the same time she got a knock on the door from police.
‘‘It’s been terrible’’ Deb said of the past year.
‘‘We were always together in everything we did, so I was totally lost . . . in the first three months I almost didn’t know how to breathe.’’
In previous years, she had been ill with an auto-immune disease, so ill she thought she might die, and Brendon had ‘‘been wonderful’’ in caring for her. She found it cruel that she was almost completely recovered while her husband’s life had been taken.
To help ease the pain, Deb had taken up her husband’s passion, and learned to sail. She had also travelled around New Zealand and the world catching up with family, achieving goals she had set to help her get through the first year.
Brendon was keenly missed by his four daughters, Louise, Kate, Jesse, and Jemma, and two granddaughters, particularly seven-year-old Ella, who used to have breakfast everyday with ‘Poppa’.
A month after he died, Kate got engaged, the man she was marrying never getting the opportunity to ask for her father’s blessing. Jemma, who had the same ‘‘kooky personality’’ as her father, had graduated without him there.
To celebrate his life a year after he had passed away, the family was having lunch together before visiting his grave.
Along with grief there is also anger, and the family is planning a private prosecution of Otis, which is expected to be lodged this month.
‘‘The reason I’m doing this is not to pursue for the sake of pursuing,’’
Deb said of the planned prosecution, which would outline concerns over the conditions her husband was working in when he died.
These include the position and design of the pit switch used to stop lifts while working in the lift shaft, the fact technicians worked alone and not in pairs, and fears the lifts were not in a condition to be used.
‘‘It could leave me bust if I lose this . . . but the point is to be a voice for Brendon, who can’t speak for himself, and maybe make a change for others,’’ Deb said.
A WorkSafe investigation found adequate systems were put in place by both Otis and the building owners to manage the risks that came with working in lifts, and no action was taken against the lift company.
An Otis spokesman said the company’s position had not changed since November, when it issued a statement saying Brendon was greatly missed by his friends and colleagues.
It welcomed WorkSafe’s decision in July not to take any enforcement action against Otis.
‘‘It’s been terrible. We were always together in everything we did, so I was totally lost ... in the first three months I almost didn’t know how to breathe.’’ Deb Scheib