The directors of Pike River Mine Ltd deny "walking away" from the families of the men killed in the tragedy after being sentenced to pay $3.41 million in reparation today. Judge Jane Farish awarded $110,000 to each of the families of the Pike River victims and the survivors of the disaster for the ongoing trauma caused to them after the explosion. Lawyers オークリー サングラス 人気 for the PRM directors John Dow, Ray Meyer and Stuart Nattrass, said the company did not "walk away" from the families after the explosion, as has been indicated in the families' victim impact statements and by Judge Farish. "Good faith efforts were made by Pike River men and women in オークリー オイルリグ the wake of the explosion to support the families by providing, among other things, family liaison services, distribution of food and other parcels, and regular updates at meetings attended by families and the Police," law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts said in a statement. The statement also said it did not accept Judge Farish's comments that no funds had been forthcoming from Pike River to help the companies.
"It should be known that Pike River and NZOG contributed very shortly following the explosion a total of $1 million to funds set up for the benefit of the families. The directors offered their sympathy and condolences to the families. Judge Farish told the Grey Mouth District Court this morning the survivors of the explosion, Russell Smith and Daniel Rockhouse, had suffered just as much as the families. Mr Rockhouse's brother was one of the miners that died. Neville Rockhouse, who lost his son in the explosion, said you cannot quantify a life. "My son Daniel, he has to pay for counselling and he can't really afford that, so it's something." He said he believed awarding compensation to his son オークリー ファイブス Daniel, and Mr Smith was "justified".
"They're the victims in all of this as well." Judge Farish said she believed the company could pay the reparation sum, and said if Pike River Coal Ltd (in receivership) claims it cannot they have the ability to apply to the court. However, she said the court had the ability to go through the registrar to place the company into liquidation. She also fined Pike River Coal Ltd $760,000 for nine health and safety breaches, and blamed it for causing the explosion that killed 29 men in November 2010. The former Labour Department, now part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), charged the company over its methane, strata and ventilation management, mitigating explosion risk and impact, plus transgressions on health and safety management for contractors, subcontractors and their employees. Judge Farish was emotional as she delivered her ruling in the Greymouth District Court today, prompting tears from the families sitting in the public gallery. "We sat yesterday through a very tough morning.
It was clear that there is significant psychological and emotional and trauma that is ongoing for the families of the miners who were killed and also those for the two men survived." She said the mine is not the final resting place that the families have chosen for their men. "The victim impact statements were harrowing and they feel great sorrow, and it's only when you read them in full and you have their collective sorrow that one understand the imperative it is for them to be able bury their brothers, husbands, partners and sons. "To retrieve the bodies may not answer their nightmares. It may not answer all of the questions that they have. But it may go some way to affording them some peace in their lives." The lawyer for the families revealed that they are today launching a bid for compensation from the Government, their lawyer says.
It comes after questions were raised whether the defunct company that ran the coalmine can pay compensation for the fatal mine blast, with available funds amounting to just $5000 each for survivors and victims' families. Counsel for families, Nic Davidson, says the families of the victims in the Cave Creek tragedy received apologies and compensation from the Government, and "that is what they are demanding today". Fourteen people died when a scenic viewing platform collapsed in 1995 above Cave Creek, on the West Coast, with a DoC Punakaiki Field Centre manager. The lawyer says that the families left financially ruined by the Pike disaster have nowhere else to turn and are in a desperate situation. Yesterday afternoon, the judge questioned the ministry's lawyer, Mark Zarifeh, about whether the company in receivership could pay fines and reparations because of its bleak financial position.
It owed about $21m to New Zealand Oil and Gas as a secured creditor and more than $30m to unsecured creditors, she said. "The problem here is, on the information disclosed to date, there is $156,000 remaining in an insurance claim that could be used for reparation." Dividing that by 31, including the 29 men and two survivors, worked out at $5000 each and was "just ridiculous", she said. "Considering today on the news someone who lost their foot was afforded $40,000." Zarifeh said reparation between $60,000 and $125,000 for each victim's family was recommended. He said minutes from a Pike River Coal directors meeting three weeks before the blast resolved to get statutory liability insurance of $2m.
That amount was "woefully inadequate" for a company of its size, the judge said. It was unclear whether the insurance policy had been worth $2m or been paid out for other claims, only leaving $156,000, she said. She revealed she had to order the insurance company to give some details about the policy because it had not been forthcoming. The judge agreed with some sentiments expressed in the victim impact reports that it seemed unjust the company could "shut up shop" and walk away from the mine within a month of the explosion without providing anything for the families of the victims.
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