In Court

Unguarded machine trapped worker’s hand

Alison Fava

Thakeham Tiles Ltd, a concrete wall blocks company, has been sentenced after a worker’s hand was crushed in an unguarded machine.

On 25 April 2018, an experienced worker was making concrete screen wall blocks at their site on Rock Road, West Sussex, when his hand became trapped and was crushed by the machine he was using. The worker suffered three broken fingers and thumb and had to undergo surgery to stabilise his hand.

The HSE’s investigation found the company had failed to ensure that the machine was properly guarded. The machine had been that way for a number of years.

Thakeham Tiles Ltd of Rock Road, Storrington, West Sussex pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £26,667 with £3,560 costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Russell Beckett commented: “This case highlights the importance of ensuring that dangerous moving parts of machinery are guarded.

“This incident could so easily have been avoided by having suitable guarding on the machine and systems in place to periodically check machine safety.”

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