The worker at A J Metal Products Limited was injured after his glove caught in the rollers of a machine, pulling his index finger and thumb into the rolls. Surgery carried out at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham couldn’t save the worker’s finger and it had to be amputated.
Investigating, the HSE found the company had failed to ensure measures were taken to prevent access to the moving rollers of the machine and that the movement of these dangerous parts stopped before any part of a person entered the danger zone.
A J Metal Products Limited of Bevan Road, Brierley Hill, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company has been fined £23,470 and ordered to pay costs of £1,750.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Elizabeth Thomas said “This incident could have been easily prevented had measures been taken to control the risk of workers’ hands being pulled into this machine.”
“Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”
