Lack of Health and Safety Risk Assessment causes serious injury to employee.
A Recycling firm has been fined £13,000 after a worker lost his fingers operating a machine with no risk assessment completed.
The male employee was only 8 weeks into the role at the Manchester based firm, when the incident occurred. The serious injuries sustained to his hand resulted in him losing two of his fingers whilst attempting to clear a blockage on a baler on 2nd October, last year.
The injured worker who is still undergoing treatment for the injuries is now unable to work.
Following the incident an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that the company had installed a removable guard as blockages in the machine occurred frequently. Unfortunately, the employees were not informed of the danger of accessing this while the power was on and HSE found was common practice to clear the machine by hand with the machine still running.
On further review it was found that there was no suitable risk assessment in place which could have potentially stopped the incident from occurring.
As a result of the investigation Wrapp Recycling Ltd pleaded guilty and was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,951.90.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Catherine Lyon said: “Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
Have you completed the necessary risk assessments in your organisation? Need Health and Safety support in your business? Call one of our Health and Safety experts today on 0844 327 2293 to discuss how we can ensure you are compliant with the HSE’s rules and regulations.