Paul Burr Contracting Limited

Forestry

19 December 2013

The Defendant company is a forestry contractor and who employed two workers at the time of the incident.

The Defendant owned a Volvo digger which was operated solely by Mr Burr, the sole director and shareholder of the company.

On the day of the incident, Mr Burr was using the Volvo digger to fell a tree which was approximately 29 metres in height and located on a slope (“the tree”).
The victim, an employee of the Defendant, had been instructed to manually fell four trees. The victim was standing alongside the trees he had manually felled approximately 7 metres behind the Volvo digger and 17 metres from the stump of the tree. The tree did not fall into the slope, instead it fell backwards and the victim was killed.

Paul Robert Burr

• Sections 6 and 50(1)(a) of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Sections 6, 49(2) and 49(3) of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

Palmerston North - High Court

• Sections 6 and 50(1)(a): Guilty
• Sections 6, 49(2) and 49(3): Not Guilty

• Sections 6 and 50(1)(a): Convicted
• Sections 6, 49(2) and 49(3): Acquitted

$25,000 payable by Paul Burr personally

$250,000

$75,000 payable by Paul Burr Contracting Limited.