The situations that lead to workers becoming injured and going on to make work accident claims against their employers can be avoided quite easily, but only if those employers work hand-in-hand with health and safety organisations, one personal injury compensation expert recently said.
The Government’s independent watchdog agency for illness, safety, and health issues in the workplace, the Health and Safety Executive, recently revealed that two Bromsgrove companies now face fines in the wake of a horrific workplace injury. A manworking for both KSR and Non-Flam (Sawdust) Co lost most of his middle finger, along with his entire thumb and index finger, after a run-in with a carding machine, accident claim specialists report.
The man’s hand had become trapped between the carding machine’s two rotating rollers as he attempted to remove some fibres from the rollers’ teeth when the incident occurred.
The HSE investigated the incident and found that the machine had no guarding mechanisms in place to prevent injuries, despite easily available and longstanding guidance regarding workplace safety. Moreover, neither firm undertook any risk assessment activities in order to identify any potential employee hazards.
As a result of their lack of due care, both KSR and Non-Flam (Sawdust) Co were fined by the courts. KSR now faces a £3,000 fine with additional court costs of £8,000, while Non-Flam was given a fine of £1,000 and also ordered to pay £8,000 in court costs.
Ritchie McCrae, inspector for the HSE, remarked that the employee could have easily lost his entire hand in an entirely preventable incident. Not one firm nor the other had identified the machine in question as potentially hazardous, he added, and instead continued to permit their employees to operate it- thus failing to ensure their employees’ safety.