And it collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFin leaned in the corner, as he was talking to his mate. He just leaned back, and the whole lot fell out.\u201d<\/p>\n
He fell about six metres from the third-floor balcony onto the concrete paving.<\/p>\n
Fin suffered multiple severe injuries to his brain and spine. He was airlifted by helicopter to Christchurch Hospital in a critical condition, and put in an induced coma.<\/p>\n
Dayne and Fin Paddison. Fin was left with brain and spinal injuries after the glass balustrade he was leaning on at an Airbnb in Queenstown suddenly gave way, causing him to fall. Photo \/ Dean Purcell.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went straight to surgery, and they actually had to drill into his skull and put a drain in, to let the blood out and the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dayne, who was in W\u0101naka at the time, desperately tried to get to Christchurch as he discovered over intermittent phone calls how serious the situation was.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just went on and on… I couldn\u2019t actually fly out to Queenstown. Then I just kept getting phone calls from the doctors and the emergency department saying that [he] wasn\u2019t good and I should get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou survived. But to be honest, they didn\u2019t think you were going to,\u201d Dayne tells Fin.<\/p>\n
Fin was in a coma for three days, and he was slowly weaned off the medication as he made progress, such as squeezing his family members\u2019 hands and opening his eyes again.<\/p>\n
Chairs sit in front of the damaged glass balustrade at the 495 Frankton Rd complex, where Fin Paddison fell from the balcony after the glass collapsed. Photo \/ Supplied.<\/p>\n
He has had to re-learn even the most basic tasks. He only spoke for the first time after the accident in August. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be able to see properly, it\u2019s not 100% but it\u2019s getting better,\u201d Fin says.<\/p>\n
Seven months after the fall, he is now beginning to navigate life as a paraplegic at the Auckland Spinal Rehab Unit. He is expected to be discharged in mid-November.<\/p>\n
In October, Fin had his first overnight stay at his Warkworth family home, just in time for his 24th birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a bit of a tough road, that\u2019s for sure. He\u2019s come a long way,\u201d Dayne said.<\/p>\n
Balustrades posed \u2018serious risk\u2019<\/p>\n
Fin\u2019s recovery has been nothing short of a miracle, but his family still want to know why the glass guardrail collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re there to keep people safe, right, and it\u2019s done the opposite,\u201d Dayne said.<\/p>\n
There are 17 privately owned units in the 495 Frankton Rd complex, all with the same glass railing around the balconies.<\/p>\n
The complex was built in 1997, but the balustrades were demolished and replaced between 2014 and 2015, after being granted council building consents and code of compliance.<\/p>\n
Fin Paddison was left with brain and spinal injuries after falling three floors from an Airbnb balcony in Queenstown. Photo \/ Dean Purcell.<\/p>\n
After Fin\u2019s accident, the Queenstown Lakes District Council issued dangerous building notices for the complex. All of the balustrades are now due to be replaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result of that [building safety] assessment, Council issued dangerous building notices to the owners at the complex requiring them to restrict access to the balconies, which will remain in place until remediation is complete and Council is satisfied that the danger has been removed,\u201d a council spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The owner of the townhouse where Fin fell, David Aitkenhead, also wants to know what went wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used our own engineer to look at the balustrades, and they basically told us what we needed to know, which was that they were dangerous,\u201d Aitkenhead said.<\/p>\n
The engineer\u2019s report by eZed Ltd, seen by the Herald, found \u201ca number of deficiencies\u201d with the balustrades, including that the corner glass, which collapsed and caused Fin\u2019s fall, was installed incorrectly. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a single installation – it happened over a period of a year under multiple different consents, which tells me there\u2019s a real sustainable problem,\u201d Aitkenhead said.<\/p>\n
Other issues included:<\/p>\n
The handrail posts were too far apart.The front sections of glass were not big enough to fit into the posts properly and could be pushed out.The glass was held into the posts by rubber gaskets, and some of these had been pulled out. <\/p>\n
The eZed report concluded that \u201cthe balustrades do not meet the requirements to provide adequate protection from falling\u201d and posed a \u201cserious risk\u201d.<\/p>\n
The engineer\u2019s inspection also found that potentially the wrong glass balustrade system may have been installed, compared to what was originally consented.<\/p>\n
The Airbnb on 6\/495 Frankton Road, Queenstown.<\/p>\n
Council engineers also assessed the balustrades after the accident, but it wouldn\u2019t provide the building reports to Aitkenhead. <\/p>\n
Aitkenhead and the Paddison family are concerned there could be other dangerous balustrades around the South Island.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the multiple flaws in the installation, it seems possible that there are numerous other dangerous balustrades around the South Island waiting to hurt someone,\u201d Aitkenhead said.<\/p>\n
Dayne wants someone to be held responsible if the railing was built or installed incorrectly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you hear that it wasn\u2019t even built to the plan, it just makes me so angry, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an accident waiting to happen, and it\u2019s just taken the right person to lean in the right spot on it to cause this accident, and it happened to be Fin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesperson said the council enforcement team is investigating the accident, but wouldn\u2019t go into detail.<\/p>\n
Fin Paddison and his girlfriend, Taryn Parrott. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, Council is unable to comment on this while that process is ongoing, aside from confirming that the investigation relates to the balustrades at the complex, and that the investigation is being carried out in accordance with Council\u2019s duties and functions under the Building Act, and in accordance with its Enforcement Strategy and Prosecution Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The director of the Dunedin-based contracting company, which was named in the engineering report as having installed the balustrade, did not respond to Herald inquiries.<\/p>\n
Despite the numerous issues with the installation, the Paddison family and Aitkenhead are concerned no one will be held responsible, as they were built just outside the 10-year limit in the Building Act. <\/p>\n
The Act states no civil proceeding relating to building work can be brought more than 10 years after the building work was completed. <\/p>\n
The Government announced this year the \u201cbiggest building consent system reform in decades,\u201d but the policy changes do not impact the 10-year limit. <\/p>\n
Auckland project and construction lawyer David Newport said the 10-year longstop in the Building Act is a \u201cstrict limit\u201d on all claims arising from building work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there are good policy reasons for limitation periods to exist, they can sometimes lead to harsh results. <\/p>\n
\u201cParticularly where, for example, defective building work isn\u2019t discovered until after the 10-year limit and a claimant is left unable to pursue a civil claim. <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, when time starts to run for limitation purposes is fact-dependent; for example, subsequent remedial work may have its own limitation period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newport noted that while the Supreme Court has confirmed contribution claims aren\u2019t captured by the 10-year longstop, this won\u2019t assist a claimant who is not liable for causing harm to another. <\/p>\n
Police told the Herald the investigation into the incident is still in progress, but didn\u2019t provide further details.<\/p>\n
An email from police to Aitkenhead, seen by the Herald, said they were assisting the council but wouldn\u2019t decide whether someone was liable.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding accountability, there is a lot of work going on in the background as you can imagine. It is currently being jointly looked into by Council and Police with a teamwork and information-sharing approach. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision on incorrect installation sits mainly with the Council and possibly another agency, but not with the police. We are assisting in supplying the necessary information for these regulatory bodies to inspect, but will not make the final decision ourselves as it\u2019s not our speciality.\u201d<\/p>\n
WorkSafe confirmed it was notified of the incident and made initial inquiries, but it had not opened an investigation \u201cas the local council and NZ police are best placed to respond\u201d.<\/p>\n