Lessons for forestry businesses after fatal tree-felling incident

Trevor Beale was prosecuted by WorkSafe New Zealand after his employee Tejay Alan Debenham died while felling trees at a rural property on Weber Road on 17 November 2023.

Mr Debenham was working alone and unsupervised when a tree limb struck him causing him to fall off a nearby cliff. The site contained multiple high-risk hazards, including large wind-affected trees, suspended and interlocked branches, restricted escape routes, and trees growing close to an eroded cliff edge.

In the Dannevirke District Court on Monday 7 September Mr Beale was ordered to pay $254,740 in reparation to Mr Debenham’s family as well as legal costs of $1,000 and was fined $5,000.

WorkSafe’s Central Region Manager, Nigel Formosa, says the lessons to be learned extend well beyond this case.

“Tree felling is high-risk work. Before it begins, businesses must know who is competent to do it, what supervision is required, and how the site’s hazards will be controlled. Taking someone’s word for their training or experience is not enough.

“An induction must be more than a conversation. It should be structured, documented and checked for understanding, with clear task limits and controls that are reinforced throughout the work.

“If a worker is inexperienced or not yet competent, they must receive training and close supervision. High-risk work must not proceed simply because the usual supervisor is unavailable.

“Where people work alone or remotely, businesses need a reliable check-in and check-out system that reflects the level of risk, assigns responsibility for monitoring, and triggers action if contact is missed. Those arrangements must be confirmed—not assumed.”

The prosecution identified four reasonably practicable steps that were not taken: confirming Mr Debenham’s experience, training and qualifications; completing an adequate induction; ensuring appropriate supervision; and putting an adequate check-in and check-out procedure in place.

Forestry businesses should review whether their systems work in practice. This includes documenting worker competence, reassessing hazards when conditions or personnel change, using mechanised felling where reasonably practicable, ensuring a competent person is in charge, and stopping work when the required controls or supervision are not available.

Read further information on forestry safety

Background

• Mr Beale was charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and 48(2)(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• The charge relates to failing to comply with a duty to ensure workers’ health and safety, so far as reasonably practicable, where that failure exposed an individual to a risk of death or serious injury or illness.