Coronet Peak fence post ski death due to poor risk assessment

Risk assessment failures by NZSki have emerged as being a central factor in the death of an experienced skier at Coronet Peak four years ago.

60-year-old Anita Graf-Russell - who was described in the Queenstown District Court as a very accomplished skier who could tackle various trails and runs without any difficulty - died of blunt force trauma after colliding with a wooden fence post at the bottom of Sugar's Run in September 2019

In August 2023, Judge Geoff Rea found the operator NZSki Limited guilty of breaching its health and safety obligations, and the company was sentenced today in the Queenstown District Court.

WorkSafe's investigation uncovered a 2014 document from a ski patrol staffer titled Padding Hazard Register Grid.

It refers to "28 fence posts, metal deer fencing and strainers in the area being very likely to be skied into at high speed. Several serious harm injuries have occurred already. Many near misses." The staffer stated the risk score as 10 out of 10.

In his decision, Judge Rea ruled the company had been put on notice of serious safety issues concerning the fence, but had not conducted an adequate risk assessment for the fence at any stage since 2014.

WorkSafe's Area Investigation Manager, Steve Kelly advised “NZSKI created a risk by having a ski run sloping towards a water reservoir, but did not control the subsequent risk of the fence they installed around it. The bottom line is if you create a risk, you need to assess it and control it.

"Skiing is obviously a leisure activity, but that doesn't excuse operators from failing to manage risk. You might be seeing a hazard in front of you so often it's commonplace. But taking the time to go through a proper risk assessment process makes sense, especially in seasonal industries.

"Operators like this have a duty of care to not only their employees but also members of public, who are paying customers. Businesses and organisations must not lose sight of that.”

The sentencing saw NZSKI Limited fined $440,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $130,000.

The company was charged under sections 37(1), 48(1) and 2(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Being a PCBU ('person conducting a business or undertaking') that controls or manages a workplace, namely Coronet Peak Ski Field, Queenstown (the Ski Field), failed to ensure so far as was reasonably practicable, that the workplace was without risks to the health and safety of any person, including Anita Maureen Graf-Russell, and that failure exposed Anita Maureen Graf-Russell to a risk of serious injury or death, arising from collision with a fence post that was part of a double height deer fence surrounding a water reservoir, at the base of the Sugar's Run ski trail, at the ski field.

Image: Coronet Peak.