Cardrona Ski Resort Ltd was yesterday ordered to pay almost $60,000 including court costs in the Queenstown District Court before Judge Paul Keller, of Dunedin.
The company was found guilty, following a fixture in January, of an infringement under the Health and Safety Act 1992 relating to an incident at the skifield on September 2, 2007.
The charge, which Cardrona denied, involved the installation of unmarked, unsignposted steel mesh sections across the base area of the resort.
Judge Keller said Rosemary Berry, semi-retired, a tourist from Queensland, Australia, was skiing across the base area and tripped over a 40mm-high steel mesh track placed in the snow in preparation for the Cardrona Games, due to start that afternoon.
It had been planned to close access to the area where a motorbike display was to take place about noon for the laying the tracks.
However, Mr Hammond was instructed to do this in the morning.
"I reject the defendant's argument that they were there to be seen and users of the area should have avoided them.
"I find it was an obvious hazard and had the potential for serious harm. It caused Ms Berry serious harm."
Judge Keller said after Mr Hammond laid out the tracks, he headed to the workshop for wire to tie them together.
"It was while he was away the site was unattended and Ms Berry tripped as her ski collided with the steel mesh [tracks]."
Ms Berry received a broken humerus, fractures to her left shoulder and sore, swollen and severely bruised left elbow and right knee.
Cardrona had an "exemplary record" in terms of health and safety issues up until the incident and since it happened.
While he was impressed with its health and safety policies and protocols, he found it did not comply with information contained in its hazard register.
"The company failed because . . . it took for granted that people would see the hazard."
Defence counsel Katy Baxter, of Queenstown, argued someone who was "not as vulnerable" as Ms Berry might not have been as badly injured and her injuries might have been the worst-case scenario.
Judge Keller said the fact remained injuries were caused.
"An operation such as the defendant's must take the victim as they find them and the injuries that may have occurred to a perhaps younger person . . . does not mean that it had any less obligation under the provisions of the Act."
The Department of Labour, represented by Catalijne Pille, of Wellington, submitted culpability was at the "low end of the high [bracket]".
Ms Baxter submitted culpability was in the "lowest" category.
Judge Keller found culpability in the "medium category, but not at the serious end".
Using a starting point of $60,000, the judge took into account mitigating factors including Cardrona's previous good record, which had continued with the exception of that day; the accident compensation order agreed to by the company and audits carried out following the incident.
Judge Keller found a 20% reduction from the starting point was appropriate, with a further 10% reduction which took into account reparation, leaving the total fine at $43,000.
Ms Baxter and Ms Pille agreed $10,000 for emotional harm reparation was appropriate, along with $6555.10 for economic loss.
Cardrona was also required to pay $130 court costs.
"Having considered the injuries suffered, the age of Ms Berry, the effect this has had on her life, the pain and suffering, the amount suggested by the informant appears to be appropriate to the circumstances here," Judge Keller said.
