On Thursday, Judge Nevin Dawson fined KiwiRail $290,000 and ordered to pay an emotional harm payment of $36,000 to the worker and $5000 to the contractor.
A KiwiRail worker who has scarring across his body after he got an electric shock from high voltage lines has struggled to pay his mortgage and is in a lot of debt after the accident.
The worker and a contractor were both working on a high voltage train line near Parnell in September 2024 when they were shocked by 25,000kVa. They were on an elevated work platform.
The worker underwent three surgeries and skin grafts for electrical flash burn injuries to his head, neck, chest, arms and hands. The contractor sustained burns to his face, neck, chest and wrist, along with a laceration.
