Farm machinery business Agricentre South Ltd has been ordered to pay $90,000 in reparations following a serious accident caused by faulty brakes.
Mataura resident Michele Bastiaansen suffered devastating injuries to her leg, wrist and vertebrae after falling from a 2002 New Holland tractor bought from the company.
Bastiaansen landed on the road after a trailer jack-knifed and threw her from the tractor, then driving over her leg, Stuff.co.nz reports.
The brakes failed while the tractor was moving uphill.
The company was aware of the machine’s brake problems and admitted to health and safety failings following an investigation by WorkSafe New Zealand.
It was ordered to make a $60,000 emotional harm payment and an additional $30,000 to Bastiaansen in a Gore District Court ruling.
The company will also be fined in a ruling set for a later date, Stuff reports.
Agricentre South has sites in Invercargill, Gore, Milton and Cromwell.
