Truck Leasing Limited has been fined $110,000 following the death of 19-year-old Jane Devonshire.
She was working as a runner on a rubbish truck when its brakes failed, causing it to go over a cliff in Hebe Place, Birkenhead, crushing her in the process, the NZ Herald reports.
Devonshire was working for Onyx Group Limited, which operated the service.
TLL was charged under the Health and Safety in Employment Act with failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the truck was maintained so it was safe for its intended use.
The company entered a not guilty plea, suggesting the driver had some degree of blame.
Judge Robert Ronayne found the company guilty in the Auckland District Court.
On top of the $110,000 fine, the company must also pay $36,000 Devonshire’s family and $11,000 in emotional harm to the driver.
Ronayne noted the Sterling trucks were “inherently unsuitable for rubbish collection”, with the company aware of the faulty brakes.
“Nothing the driver did could have averted tragedy.”
TLL also failed to service the vehicles appropriately, and was more focused on reactive repairs, Ronayne says.
The court rejected TLL’s argument that Onyx Group Limited or its maintenance company, N P Dobbe (NPD), were the “lead offenders”, although both companies were charged and fined $65,000 and $22,000 respectively.
Devonshire’s family told the court that the death has left a “gaping void” in their lives.
Auckland Council pleaded guilty in October last year over Devonshire’s death.
It failed to take all practicable steps to ensure that no employee of a contractor was harmed while carrying out their work.
