28 January 2020

There are allegations circulating on social media that suggest a worker involved in a May 2019 incident in Bromley, Christchurch has died as a result of chemical exposure following the incident.

This is not true. The worker was seen and spoken to by WorkSafe investigators in the latter part of last year after their return to work and WorkSafe understands the worker has made full recovery.

WorkSafe’s investigation into the incident is continuing. While our investigation is underway, we are unable to provide any further comment or details (and we have up to 12 months in which to reach a decision on whether a prosecution should be initiated).

The social media focus is on an incident which took place in Christchurch in July 2019 which WorkSafe originally classified as a workplace fatality. A Coronial report has since concluded this death was caused by a medical condition, not poisoning. We have now removed this fatality from our fatalities register.

There is no link between the two incidents, and any allegations suggesting there is should not be repeated.