The operator of a Countdown supermarket in Auckland has been fined $45,000 after a worker's thumb was amputated following a workplace accident.
The assistant manager of the deli at the Birkenhead store of the supermarket chain cut her thumb on an automated meat slicer while deboning a ham in February this year. It was later amputated.
In North Shore District Court on Tuesday General Distributors Ltd was fined $45,000 for breaching health and safety laws and ordered to pay reparations of $5000 to the worker.
The incident could have been avoided if a guard on the machine was in place, John Howard from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said.
