An employee’s arm was crushed and broken after it was dragged into unguarded machinery at a factory in Ellesmere Port.
Chester Magistrate’s Court heard that the 29-year-old male, had been cleaning around a baling machine on 18 April 2012, when his arm became caught.
In 2009, Prowell Ltd installed the second-hand baler, at its North Road plant, but had relocated the control panel and hydraulic power pack to the outside of an enclosure around the machine to reduce the risk of fire. This however, created an unguarded gap on the machine itself.
Magistrates were told that the firm failed to carry out a risk assessment on the use of the baler, despite employees clearing out waste cardboard and dust on a daily basis, therefore putting the workers at risk.
On 24 October Prowell Ltd was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,053 after pleading guilty to single breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1998.
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