Intercity Group, a New Zealand-based high-speed vessel operator, has been fined and convicted by the Auckland District Court for the physical injuries suffered by boating
passengers resulting in “serious back damages.”
According to Maritime New Zealand, the national watchdog for maritime activities, two female clients suffered major spinal fractures during a leisure trip to Hole in the Rock last
winter (January 2011). The vessel operated by Intercity Group reportedly hit large waves deliberately, resulting in damage to a female passenger’s spine. Another incident with a female customer also happened on March 22 of that same year. Maritime New Zealand called it a violation of sections 15 and 50 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act because the company failed to make sure its operations did not cause any harm to clients or employees.
The Health and Safety in Employment Act, passed in 1992, is aimed at keeping people safe on the job, as well as others who may be in or around a job site. The boating incidents fall under this law because Intercity is a mobile business.
The New Zealand Department of Labour oversees cooperation with this law on the mainland. Maritime New Zealand is responsible for oversight on the water and the Civil
Aviation Authority is responsible for air travel.
Offenses against the Health and Safety in Employment can earn a company, owner, or self-employed contractor up to two years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Whether the
business intentionally caused harm to their clients is not taken into account for such trials as the one involving Intercity. If the result is injury to any party, and if that injury could have reasonably been avoided, the defendant is held liable.
It is also helpful to note that each incident could be tried and penalized individually under the Health and Safety in Employment Act.
Intercity was fined NZ$50,000 for the January 2011 charge and another NZ$70,000 for the March 22 incident. Two of the victims each received NZ$45,000 as reparation, while the third victim was given NZ$60,000 for suffering the most injuries.
According to the spokesperson for MNZ, the responsible move for Intercity would have been to take the boat off the water until it was able to identify why the first accident took place and effected the proper measures to remedy the problem. However, the company still continued using it as if the incident did not happen.
“It’s a serious reminder to all operators of all high-speed vessels and extreme-type thrill
rides that they must continue to evaluate and adopt safety system to ensure that nobody gets hurt,” said the watchdog.
For the part of Intercity, the company argued that it was a new vessel and hence did not think the second incident would happen. However, some previous passengers had sprung
forth saying that they HAD reported safety concerns only the company did not take heed.
A further investigation is being conducted on the affairs and protocol of the firm and other boating service providers. It remains unknown how many more of the same incidents have been reported and the watchdog has issued a call for more people to come out with their experiences to place more weight to the case. The MNZ believes these two are just a few of the many accidents involving the reckless handling of high-speed
maritime vessels.
If you know of a similar incident involving boat operators, our maritime lawyers can help you determine the best possible courses of action and claim reparation.
