Laboom Dyer was critically injured after the container loader he was operating fell over on 27 August 2018 and he later died in hospital. On Friday a judge described the 23-year-old’s death as entirely preventable, and a tragedy.
Dyer had been working at the Ports of Auckland since 2015 and became a ‘straddle’ driver – the eight-wheeled vehicles which sit about 13 meters high from the ground to move shipping containers.
Judge Evangelos Thomas said, “The tragic outcome here was foreseeable. The training provided fell well short of what was contained in the manufacturer’s manual; the bonus departed from the industry standard.”
The Ports of Auckland was fined $540,000 for the health and safety breach and ordered to pay $136,000 in reparations, with $80,000 of that to go to Dyer’s young son.
Dyer’s death is one of several at the Port in recent years, with the most recent being father of seven, Pala’amo Kalati, in August.
That prompted Auckland Council – which owns the Ports of Auckland – to launch an independent review of health and safety at the port.