Latest news with #SeanClear
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Coroner rules Irishman who died on New Zealand farm should have been saved
Sean Clear, who was originally from Ballacolla, Co Laois, was a mechanic by trade and had been working on machinery when he died just days away from his 25th birthday An Irish farm worker who died after he was electrocuted while working on a farm in New Zealand could have been saved by 'simple, no-cost steps,' it has been revealed. A coroner has issued urgent safety recommendations after 24-year-old Sean Clear died while working on a the North Island farm in 2023. Clear, who was originally from Ballacolla, Co Laois, was a mechanic by trade and had been working on machinery when he died just days away from his 25th birthday on February 17. The coroner ruled that the a death of the Irish seasonal worker could have been prevented 'if simple steps had been taken'. Sean Clear News in 90 Seconds - Aug 8th Coroner Mark Wilton said Sean's death had left his family in 'disbelief' as they were 'particularly pained that if simple steps had been taken the tragedy could have been averted'. According to the coroner's report, Clear, who arrived in New Zealand in October 2022 for harvesting work, was killed on February 17, 2023 at Taurewa Station near Tongariro. WorkSafe, New Zealand's workplace health and safety regulator, released a statement following his death, detailing how Clear's mower became bogged down while he was working on a farm near Whakapapa Village. A digger was brought in to extract the mower contacted an overhead line carrying electricity at 33,000 volts. 'As Mr Clear was steadying the mower for extraction, the electricity passed through the digger's arm and into the 25-year-old Irish national, causing his death,' the statement reads. An investigation by WorkSafe found the employer failed to carry out a risk assessment to identify the overhead power lines as a hazard. It also said it had failed to have a spotter in place to ensure the lines were not contacted. Despite immediate CPR and emergency services' efforts, Clear died at the scene. Coroner Wilton confirmed the cause of death as electrocution due to a workplace accident, exacerbated by aspiration of stomach contents, according to the Waikato Times. Sean Clear died after being electrocuted, a death Coroner Mark Wilton, added, could have been prevented by 'simple, no-cost steps'. The coroner found that Coogan Contracting, Clear's employer, failed to identify the power lines as a hazard and did not communicate the risks to employees—failings that directly led to the fatality. The company was sentenced at Taumarunui District Court on December 18 and ordered to pay $100,000 in reparations and fined $25,000 after admitting charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act. 'I accept the opinion of WorkSafe that the overhead powerlines at the Taurewa Station work site were a risk that should have been clearly identified by Coogan's,' Coroner Wilton said. 'I also accept that the failure to identify and mitigate that risk resulted in Mr Clear's death.' Coroner Wilton endorsed a suite of WorkSafe resources and a recent safety alert urging rural operators to "look out, look up" and keep a minimum four-metre clearance from live lines. The coroner also echoed an earlier call by another coroner to review WorkSafe's agricultural powerline guidance. 'This tragic event highlights how everyday risks in farming can become deadly if basic safety protocols are ignored,' he said. 'Simple, no-cost steps could have saved a life.' Clear's family expressed disbelief at the circumstances, stating that the accident was avoidable had proper precautions been taken. In a tribute to Clear in the wake of his death, Clough-Ballacolla Gaelic Athletic Association chairman Gordon Pearson told how the community had been 'heartbroken' by the young man's death. 'He was such a nice chap. He had a word for everybody, Pearson said at the time. 'They are a lovely family. It is terrible. It was a freak accident.' Coroner Wilton extended sincere condolences to them, noting the 'profound grief' caused by the loss.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Coroner finds NP & MA Coogan Partnership breached health and safety obligations prior to fatal accident
Sean Clear as electrocuted in February 2023 when an excavator came into contact with powerlines carrying 30,000 volts. File picture. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King The coroner says the employers of an Irish seasonal worker - killed when a digger touched with overhead powerlines - failed to brief workers on safety procedures ahead of the death. Sean Clear was electrocuted in February 2023 on Taurewa Station in the central North Island when an excavator being used to free a tractor and mower unit stuck in muddy conditions and came into contact with powerlines carrying 30,000 volts. In findings released on Thursday, coroner Mark Wilton said a WorkSafe investigation into the death had found Clear's employer, NP & MA Coogan Partnership had breached Health and Safety obligations in a number of ways in the lead-up to the accident. He said the company had failed to identify and communicate to staff the risk posed by powerlines at the worksite and had failed to take "reasonably practical steps" to ensure the safety of its workers. Clear had been harvesting silage on the station when the tractor and mower unit he was driving became stuck in mud. He was electrocuted when an excavator - being used to assist - contacted overhead power lines just over seven metres above the ground while chained to the mower unit that Clear was touching. The coroner said there was an absence of a safety observer or "spotter" to alert the driver of the digger before its boom came within minimum approach distance from the lines, as well as a failure to limit the length of the chain used to lift the mower. He also said the company had not contacted the power company for advice or requested a technician on site to supervise work near the lines. Last year Coogan's pled guilty to charges of failing to comply with its duties to keep workers safe and exposing them to the risk of serious injury or death. Coogan's was ordered to pay a fine of $25,000, as well as $100,000 in emotional harm reparation to Sean Clear's family. On Thursday, Coroner Wilton said he agreed with comments made by Clear's family at the company's sentencing last year. "Mr Clear's family and friends spoke at sentencing about their disbelief about what occurred. They were particularly pained that if simple steps had been taken at the time the mower was being moved, the tragedy could have been averted," Wilton said. The coroner recommended Coogan's update its hazard policy to include guidelines from Electric and Safety Regulations 2010, the New Zealand Electrical Code of Practice for Electrical Safe Distances and the WorkSafe guidelines regarding electrical safety in agriculture. Wilton said Coogan's needed to ensure existing workers were updated and trained in operating risks and mitigation procedures as well as develop an induction policy to educate and train new workers on the risk management practises in the policy. He said risk assessment and mitigation planning should be put in place ahead of work going ahead at each of the company's work sites "regardless of whether work has been carried out there in previous seasons". The coroner noted that WorkSafe had also issued a media release and a safety alert "urging businesses to prioritise safety near overhead electric lines" in response to Clear's death and a coroner's report on another death on a farm from powerline electrocution - issued earlier this year. Coogan Contracting declined to comment on the findings. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
