Informa Markets

Author Bio ▼

Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) is first for independent health and safety news.
July 18, 2022

Get the SHP newsletter

Daily health and safety news, job alerts and resources

in court

Manufacturing company fined after worker loses part of hand

A manufacturing company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker lost part of their hand in a textile machine.

An employee of Laxtons Limited was running a number of textile machines, on 24 March 2021. When he opened a guard to check on a build-up of fibres, he reached in to remove material, losing part of his hand.

The HSE’s investigation found that one of the machines had a defective interlock device. This allowed the machine to continue running when the guard, which was located over a pair of in-running rollers and gears, was opened.

Laxtons Ltd of Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £15,750 and ordered to pay £759 in costs at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

HSE Inspector Julian Franklin said: “Machine guarding should be in line with the appropriate standard, and regularly checked.

“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply training staff in the safe and correct way of operating machinery, and regularly checking that safety devices are functioning.”

The Safety Conversation Podcast: Listen now!

The Safety Conversation with SHP (previously the Safety and Health Podcast) aims to bring you the latest news, insights and legislation updates in the form of interviews, discussions and panel debates from leading figures within the profession.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, subscribe and join the conversation today!

Related Topics

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments