New Zealand woman awarded $40k after arm baked in biscuit oven

A New Zealand woman whose arm was trapped in an industrial oven for 40 minutes, at temperatures hotter than 85C, has won a $40,000 payout.

The unnamed woman suffered "mutilating" injuries after her overalls became caught as she was clearing the oven during a cooling down period, Wellington District Court heard yesterday.

This caused her arm to become trapped between a baking plate and part of the machine's framework, the New Zealand Herald reports.

The woman was only freed from the oven, which operates between 85C and 180C, when the machinery was dismantled.

An ambulance was not called for 20 minutes, however, prolonging her pain.

The woman suffered severe burns, skin loss and muscle loss. She has had surgery three times for skin grafts and to remove dead tissue, and will need further surgeries to transplant muscle into her arm.

The court found her employer, Meycov Food Limited, trading as Rutherford & Meyer, had no proper procedures in place for cleaning the oven and that safety guards had been left open.

The company was ordered to pay a $12,000 fine, in addition to the $40,000 in employee compensation.