The judge said “it seems to me that the slope of the cliff face is such that if anyone fell from the platform or from the handrail level, they would be unlikely to fall neatly and directly into the small space of less than one metre between the edge of the platform and the outer retaining wall. A slope of 45° is steep enough for someone to tumble down and injure themselves (stairs in a house typically have a slope of about 40°).Ī court decision some time ago (Judge MA Frater, District Court Gisborne, ) dealt with a situation where there was a cliff with a platform at the top, 800mm above a small retaining wall and set back about one metre from it. Unfortunately fatal mountain climbing falls occur from time to time, but many of them are not vertical falls. One dictionary definition of ‘to fall’ is ‘to descend rapidly from a higher to a lower level’.
If a deck or patio is 1.5 metres above a flat lawn, then the height someone could fall is obviously 1.5 metres. Where people could fall one metre or more from an opening in the external envelope or floor of a building, or from a sudden change of level within or associated with a building, a barrier shall be provided. Clause F4 (Safety from Falling), in F4.3.1, states:
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