A Midlands aluminium casting company has appeared in court to answer charges relating to a molten-metal splash that seriously burned one of its employees.

JVM Castings Ltd, based in Tamworth, was prosecuted by the HSE following the incident, on 27 July 2010. Asim Qureshi, 41, was operating a die-cast machine at the company’s premises in Droitwich Road when 650ºC molten metal sprayed from the back of it, causing serious burns to his right arm, shoulder, leg and face.

Mr Qureshi was unable to work for two months and continues to receive treatment for his burnt skin.

Sitting on 19 January, Worcester magistrates heard that there had been three similar incidents of molten aluminium blow-backs at the factory – one of which caused serious injuries to another employee seven months before the incident involving Mr Qureshi.

Investigating HSE inspector Tariq Khan explained to SHP what happened: “The die-casting machine consists of several parts, and metal is continuously being poured under pressure. Hot molten metal is poured into a cold chamber before being injected into the die.

“The injection unit is at the back and this is where the operator controls are. The whole process needs guarding throughout but the guarding at this end was not sufficient. When the tip of the hydraulic ram, exerting 6000 psi, failed the molten metal splashed out and hit Mr Qureshi.”

Inspector Khan said JVM Castings’ risk assessment had identified blow-backs as a danger but did not take any steps to reduce the risk. In addition to the insufficient guarding the workers had not been supplied with adequate PPE.

JVM Castings (Worcester) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the HSWA 1974 but received a reduced fine-and-costs combination of £10,000 (£6000 fine and £4000 partial costs) on the basis of its plea of financial difficulty. It offered its accounts for 2010/2011 to show that it was not in a position to pay a substantial fine, and the company’s MD said in court that financial constraints had also caused it to “drag its feet” over health and safety.

It also said it had added guards to the injection end of the machine, following this incident.

Concluded inspector Khan: “Despite three previous incidents, one of which caused serious injuries to another worker, JVM Castings failed to learn from them and did not follow the recommendations of its own investigation. As a result of the company’s failings a man has suffered serious injuries, which could easily have been avoided.”