A WorkSafe investigation has found an accident, which cost scaffolder Jahden Nelson both his arms, was preventable.

Jahden Nelson was dismantling scaffolding in April 2022 when a steel pole he was holding contacted an overhead powerline in the West Auckland suburb of Massey.

He received high-voltage electrical burns to his upper and lower limbs, including an exit wound of the electrical charge through his left foot.

Both arms were amputated to the upper bicep, and he will need daily assistance for routine activities for the rest of his life.

The employer, CPA 2022 Ltd, was sentenced on Monday for its health and safety failures.

It was ordered to pay reparations to Nelson, though the amount was suppressed.

The company was not fined due to its inability to pay, WorkSafe said.

WorkSafe area investigation manager Paul West told Morning Report the company had gone to the experts to ask how to do the job safely, but the information was never communicated to the scaffolding crew that dismantled the job.

"So Jahden wasn't aware of what he needed to do, and a simple communications error ended up with a young man in his 20s losing both arms.

"One of the instructions was the same team that puts [the scaffolding] up is to take it down - and that didn't happen.

"It really comes down to these companies just having systems in place to make sure that critical information is passed on to the right people."

To the best of his knowledge this was not a widespread problem, he says.

"This was a very unusual incident for us to get."

-RNZ.