After one teenage trainee sustained horrific injuries in a mincing machine incident, the sixteen year old boy has filed a work accident claim.
The trainee, who had requested that his identity not be made public, nearly lost his arm after it became trapped in a mincing machine according to his accident claim. The incident occurred at the Brighton-based meat processing firm Malpass Direct when the teenage trainee worker made an attempt to clear a blockage in the machine whilst preparing it for a sausage mix.
The young man’s injury claims described a significant loss of muscle and substantial bone damage in his left forearm. The trainee’s injuries were so severe he now only has movement in three of his fingers on that hand.
The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation shortly after the incident only to discover that the trainee had no proper supervision when he was operating the machine. Moreover HSE investigators found that factory staff disabled a safety interlock located on the lid of the mincer on a regular basis in order to speed up the sausage mixture preparation process.
Malpass Direct Ltd. of Brighton Meat Market, located in Brighton’s Hollingdean Road admitted to being in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act during a hearing at Brighton Magistrates’ Court. For their part in the young man’s injury, the firm was given a fine of £5,000.
In the wake of the hearing, one HSE inspector commented that the company had provided an unacceptable level of supervision. Moreover the HSE inspector stated that the meat processing firm could have easily found a way to make modifications to the mincer that didn’t necessitate the safety interlock being tampered with.
No further details were available in regards to any personal injury compensation the injured worker may be entitled to due to the damage done to his arm.