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August 23, 2012

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Worker’s leg crushed inside blocked brick machine

A migrant worker suffered crush injuries to his leg when he became trapped inside a poorly-guarded machine at a brick-making factory.

Nikoloz Demetrashvili, 42, was working at Michelmersh Brick and Tile Company’s Ltd’s facility in Romsey, Hampshire, when the incident took place on 12 October last year.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Demetrashvili was clearing a blockage from a brick-making machine after two trays had dropped on a brick mould instead of one.

He followed company instructions and disabled the pressure-sensitive mats, which were designed to prevent access to the machine, as he needed the machine to have power so he could free the tray. The machine was not in production mode but the sensors were still active.

He climbed inside the machine to reach the tray, which he had done on previous occasions to clear blockages. As he leant over the turntable and pulled the tray, a sensor activated and the turntable rotated, crushing his leg and trapping him inside the machine. He suffered multiple fractures to his right leg and spent three weeks in hospital.€

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Alexhoward_121
Alexhoward_121
11 years ago

Ahh! Does anybody else spot the theme here? Migrant worker again in incident with poorly guarded machine and injured when fixing stoppage! in addition to having a very strong work ethic, migrant workers are just as capable of contacting a no-win-no-fee ‘compo’ outfit as a British national. This is a virtually open & shut big money one too – i.e. “He followed company instructions…” & “… very serious and life-changing injuries because of safety failures that could easily have been avoided.”