Restaurant must pay $26k over accident
A Tauranga company which was fined $20,000 after an employee got his arm trapped in a pasta maker has remained in contact with the worker and says the job is open to him.
Tauranga company Allegro Limited, which owns Volare Restaurant, was fined $20,000 in Tauranga District Court and ordered to pay reparations of $6000.
A Frenchman had been working at the restaurant as a kitchen hand for about seven months when he was preparing pasta in an industrial-sized mixer.
As he lifted the lid to check the mix, his left arm became caught around the mixing rod and he received multiple fractures, soft tissue damage and tendon and nerve damage.
The machine's interlock switch was broken, meaning it did not automatically stop when the lid was opened. The company's directors said yesterday it was an "unfortunate accident".
"It was obviously a very regrettable incident that occurred and we did all we could. We've done all we could since then. We've taken out the machine and replaced it with a new one."
The company's spokesman said: "He's a lovely little kid, he was a great worker, it was obviously very sad what happened. The positives are that we remain in contact, the job offer's open to him should he decide to come back."
After spending another couple of months in the country after the accident, the worker returned to France. "We felt very remorseful about what actually happened, we supported him and his family throughout the ordeal."
