Widow of port worker tells of ‘indescribable pain’

The wife of Lyttelton Port employee Bradley Fletcher, killed on the job a year ago, has spoken in court of the “indescribable pain” of his loss.

Anita Fletcher, who was married to Mr Fletcher for 13 years, read an emotional victim impact statement at the Lyttelton Port Company’s Christchurch District Court sentencing for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure his safety at work.

Mrs Fletcher told of sometimes having suicidal thoughts since the loss of the man with whom she had three children, when a scissor crane toppled at work at the port on August 28, 2014. He was not trained to operate the scissor lift.

Often tearful, she spoke of the family wanting him to come home so that they could have their lives back. She spoke of knowing that the accident was preventable, and said her husband had been passionate about improving health and safety conditions for people at work.

She spoke of them being together since they were 19. “We realised we were so lucky to have such an awesome husband and dad. The loss has caused us indescribable pain,” she said.

They had plans for their future. They looked forward to being grandparents and growing old together. “I expected to live my whole life with him. We loved each and we were truly soul mates.”

Mrs Fletcher said: “I ask the Lyttelton Port Company to make a commitment to their staff to never let this happen to another worker.”

The court heard a victim impact statement from a colleague who was with Mr Fletcher when the scissor lift toppled into a container and killed him. He said he had now been diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome. He hoped that “the decision-makers” would work to build safety into the port company’s operations.

Mr Fletcher’s mother Barbara Fletcher wept as she spoke of the family’s loss, and said: “Please don’t let it happen to anybody else again.”

Worksafe New Zealand prosecutor DeAnne Brabant, said the prosecution was seeking a reparation payment of $75,000 for the family.

The accident happened when Mr Fletcher and another worker had been instructed to jum start of straddle carrier using a scissor lift. This meant working at 10m to 11m, about the height of a three-storey building. No risk assessment was done, and neither man was training in the use of the scissor lift, she said. Nor had the lift been maintained an operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

There appeared to be no monitoring done of fault repairs when repairs were carried out. The company said it was not aware of the faults, but they should have been, she said.

An earlier report about a mechanical fault with a leg of the scissor lift not extending, was not addressed by the company.

Counsel for the Port Co, Garth Gallaway, introduced Port Company officials, and said hearing the victim impact statements had been “extraordinarily moving”. He said: “Submissions pale into insignificance when one hears of the suffering that one has heard today.”

The Port Co had no issue with the $75,000 reparation payment “and acknowledges that no amount of money can make up for the dreadful loss that the victims have suffered”.

He acknowledged the company had failed with issues relating to the scissor lift, in terms of training, and maintenance. There had been previous incidents, around 2007 and 2009, of legs on the scissor lift jamming. The lift had been repaired and returned to operations, without the Port Co being told of the problem of a build-up of coal dust in the leg. Employees would sometimes fix the problem by tapping with a hammer.

Judge John Strettell said there had been a tragic loss and extended his sympathy to the family. Prosecutions were a way to recognise the loss and attempt to do better.

“There is never one issue that you can point to, and say, ‘That’s what caused it.’ There are nearly always a variety of reasons for things that happen in workplaces, in particular.”

It was now known that one of the scissor lift’s legs did not work because it was clogged with compressed coal dust.

He noted that Anita Fletcher had expressed the wish not to have any award to her, but to her children, but he thought she might like to have time to consider that. She could then apportion the funds as she wished.

He said the case showed there were issues that should have caused those in charge and those responsible to think that there may well be consequences if they were not rectified. An alternative fix had been available for the problem with the straddle crane, if an inquiry had been made with the manufacturer.

There had been a fatal, systemic breakdown between various parts of the company in relation to health and safety concerns, said the judge. There had been a significant failure to comply with the standards required of the company at the time of the accident.

He awarded reparations totalling $75,000 and a fine of $63,000 – total penalties of $138,000.

He recognised the company’s guilty plea, expressions of remorse and the remedial actions it had taken. He also recognised that the company acknowledged its on-going commitment to the Fletcher family and children.

The court was told that there had been improvements in practices at the company since the accident.

 

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