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The wife of a Tauranga man who nearly died after being crushed by a falling skip bin has described the harrowing ordeal of coming to terms with knowing her husband of 29 years will never be the same again.

The woman has permanent name suppression, as do her husband and eldest son. She read her victim impact statement in the Tauranga District Court on Tuesday, as her husband’s former employers were sentenced.

Lorraine and Robin Horne, owners of Bin Boys BOP Limited (Bin Boys), had admitted one charge each of, as business operators, failing to ensure their worker was not put at risk of death or serious injury while operating truck-mounted lifting equipment to empty a skip bin.

The court heard the worker was critically injured on March 31, 2021, after a skip bin fell on his head and shoulders, crushing his skull and leaving him with serious head and brain injuries.

The accident was at another Greerton business. It was the man’s third day on the job.

The victim suffered a fracture to the right side of his head, WorkSafe’s summary of facts said. The significant bleeding and severe swelling underneath caused a brain deformity. He also had bone fractures to his face and jaw.

He was in a coma for 17 days and suffered several strokes during six weeks in Waikato Hospital. He was discharged to a rehabilitation facility and eventually returned home in June 2021, but will likely have lifelong difficulties with some tasks.

In court, his heartbroken wife wept as she described the “emotional, physical and financial” toll her husband’s “life-changing” injuries had taken on her and their family.

She recalled spending 20 hours a day at her husband’s side when he was in the coma, “petrified” he would die.

A skip bin in a suspended position for tipping. Photo / WorkSafe

“My husband has had to learn to walk, talk and eat again and that has been hugely frustrating for him and incredibly hard for me to watch... I understand this is part of his [recovery] journey but it has become more stressful and more of a heartache for me and our family as each day passes.”

She said they “would have been screwed” without help from extended family.

“I feel like I have been holding my breath for the last 22 months since this happened... each day is a mountain of challenges.

“Our lives have been put on hold so that my husband’s needs can be met, and hoping with every appointment, every rehab session and operation he gets a little more back to the man he was. But our lives will never, ever be the same again.”

She said it had been “a real struggle”.

“I’m not the same person that I was before I heard Robin [Horne]’s car pull into my driveway that day... I’m now a therapist, a carer, my husband’s PA and he needs help with most things and the buck stops with me.

“This is not the man I married and lived with and loved, this accident has changed our lives forever.”

She felt “wild and angry” and never wanted to “see anybody else go through this”.

“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is deal with grieving the loss of the person who is still alive, but will never ever be the same.”

The victim’s eldest son told the court he would never forget learning of his father’s injury and fearing he would die in the ambulance or that his life support would be turned off before they could get to hospital.

“I remember being horrified when I was told my father was in a coma and needed immediate surgery. Driving to Waikato Hospital was the longest drive in my life and I was broken, mum had to drive us there.

“This was the first time in my life I had seen my father unconscious. He was covered in blood. He was a mess and looked so fragile, like a sheet of glass that was already cracked. Seeing someone who I thought was invincible laid so low was too much for me, I just fell apart.”

He said it was “touch and go” during the coma and he thought he would lose his father, who lost his own dad at 22.

“I felt like it was history repeating itself.”

He described his father as a good man and hard worker who was “deeply dedicated” to his family and always put them first.

”But the man sitting inside the house is not the same person he once was.

“I am angry that this has happened to my dad and our family, and that he has become a statistic of companies that... let people get hurt at work.”

“The hardest thing about all this is that I’ve watched my dad work his arse off his entire life for other people and this is what he’s got from it.”

The bin and lifting equipment on the rear of the truck, with deck mounted tipping chain. Photo / WorkSafe

WorkSafe said Bin Boys operated waste management services in Tauranga and Rotorua and its owners were aware of the risk arising from emptying a raised skip bin but had not recorded it in its hazard/risk register, and had no written record of the victim’s induction at the company.

It also failed to provide the victim with an adequate safe system of work to follow, and did not have a complete register of hazard risks.

The owners told WorkSafe that the safety analysis for tipping bins was undocumented and had been “mentally done”, with staff told to “jiggle” bins by moving trucks back and forth to dislodge any stuck debris.

There were no witnesses to the accident and the worker had no memory of the day, the court was told.

WorkSafe lawyer Tanya Braden told Judge Louis Bidois that WorkSafe and the defendants’ lawyer Matthew King reached an agreement that the appropriate fine should be $250,000 over five years, after discounts for mitigating factors, remorse, willingness to attend a restorative justice meeting and guilty pleas.

She said WorkSafe also accepted the defendants’ offer to pay $100,000 reparation, which included $20,000 for consequential losses, and WorkSafe’s legal costs of $9,748.

King said his clients were sincerely remorseful, had made significant improvements to the business operation since the accident and had a previously unblemished health and safety record.

King also read a statement from his clients in response to the victim’s statements, saying the Hornes were “truly sorry they had not put those health and safety systems in place before the accident”.

The statement described that day as “the hardest and worse” the business had experienced, and they were “devastated by what happened”.

“We can’t begin to imagine what it was like in those early stages not knowing if you’re going to have a husband and a father back and for that we apologise and are truly sorry. We often think if only we could turn the clock back, but obviously we can’t.”

The statement said they did not “expect forgiveness” but wished to express their sorrow for the impact on the family.

“In our business, we are determined that each day we make sure our staff return home safely.”

Judge Bidois convicted and discharged Lorraine Horne, after the judge was told Robin Horne had accepted sole responsibility for the failures.

Bidois fined Robin Horne $250,000 and ordered him to pay $100,000 reparation plus legal costs.

He acknowledged the defendants’ “reasonable” response to the accident and reparation offers, after making financial contributions to the victim while he was in hospital.

In a written statement to the Bay of Plenty Times, WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul West said Bin Boys had relied on informal, on-the-job training for the victim, who had no similar work experience.

“This approach to health and safety is completely deficient, leading to tragic consequences and ultimately a loss of independence for the victim.

“Doing it right is not necessarily about creating paperwork, but about ensuring existing staff have all they need to do the job safely, and get new workers on the same page. Employers should strive to eliminate workplace risks, or put appropriate measures in place to mitigate them wherever possible.”