New development in Berryman bridge case

By Nick Smith

Friday 5th July 2002

The Wanganui couple wrongly blamed for the death of a friend yesterday appealed to the solicitor-general to order another inquest after shocking revelations that the army withheld information.

Keith and Margaret Berryman want compensation for the loss of their farm, loss of earnings, legal bills and anxiety and distress as a result of the partial blame a coroner attributed to the couple.

Beekeeper Kenneth Richards died in 1994 after a bridge on the Berryman's farm near Taumarunui collapsed and Mr Richards' ute fell.

The coroner's court did not hear an army report, which was withheld, into the fatality.

The secret report laid blame for the accident on design faults and the use of untreated timber, which perished. The army built the bridge.

Yesterday, the Berryman's lawyer, Willie Palmer of Buddle Findlay, filed an application to the Crown Law Office seeking another inquest.

Not only had the army built a faulty bridge and then withheld information from the court but the Berrymans did not even own the bridge.

The bridge was owned by the Taumarunui County Council, now Ruapehu District Council, which the Berrymans argue was responsible for inspecting and maintaining the bridge.

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