A coroner is calling on Worksafe to look at strengthening safety regulations in the forestry sector, after a 39-year-old father of two was crushed to death by a falling tree.<\/p>\n
Mykhailo Tremel was working on a forestry block in Clevedon, south of Auckland, in June 2022, when he radioed fellow workers for help.<\/p>\n
They found Tremel down a steep bank, lying on the ground injured, with his chainsaw still running. He was initially conscious, but deteriorated.<\/p>\n
The two workers administered CPR and called emergency services, but Tremel was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n
The tree had crushed his chest and abdomen, and he had significant internal injuries.<\/p>\n
Worksafe prosecuted Turoa Logging Limited – who had hired Tremmel – and Pulley Contracting Limited – who was managing the harvesting.<\/p>\n
After pleading guilty in the Manukau District Court, they were fined and ordered to pay reparations totalling more than $300,000.<\/p>\n
In her finding, released to the public on Monday, coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said Tremel was originally from Ukraine and arrived in New Zealand in 2016.<\/p>\n
She said, had a logging machine been used, Tremel’s death would likely have been prevented.<\/p>\n
“I further find that better observation techniques, call-in procedures and emergency response procedures would have (on the balance of probabilities) improved the chances of Mr Tremel having a favourable outcome after the accident.”<\/p>\n
Coroner Schmidt-McCleave received expert advice from health and safety expert Michael Cosman.<\/p>\n
Cosman told the coroner research showed people who felled trees without a machine were 300 times more likely to die at work than others in the New Zealand workforce.<\/p>\n
He said, as more machines were used to cut down trees, the number of deaths in the industry had steadily declined.<\/p>\n
The coroner said advice from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), as well as WorkSafe, suggested regulatory work on forestry had been on hold since 2022.<\/p>\n
There were plans to include provisions in the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act, which would have applied to the forestry sector, Coroner Schmidt-McCleave said.<\/p>\n
“Cabinet agreed in May 2021 to make the regulations and drafting began, but this was paused in later 2022,” she said in her finding.<\/p>\n
While there was an approved code of practice (ACOP), these were not mandatory.<\/p>\n
The coroner referred to a 2021 coronial finding into the death of another forestry worker, which encouraged MBIE to prioritise “regulatory frameworks”.<\/p>\n
“Decisions about the content and relative priority of that programme, including whether particular regulatory work should be pursued or prioritised, are for the minister, with MBIE providing advice,” Schmidt-McCleave said.<\/p>\n
The coroner recommended WorkSafe review the current code of practice to make it clear that no wind-damaged trees should be cut down manually.<\/p>\n
She also recommended WorkSafe consult and consider whether an observer be required to help with decision-making, look out for loose branches and to give medical help in an emergency.<\/p>\n
The coroner noted that, while Tremel had an ‘observer’, they were operating an excavator and couldn’t see Tremel.<\/p>\n
Schmidt-McCleave recommended a triage trauma kit be within easy reach of the work area, crew members be trained in first aid and a site-specific emergency plan be prepared, which included determining the nearest point for a helicopter to land.<\/p>\n