One timber frame worker may bring a work accident claim against his employer after suffering a gruesome injury to his hand whilst on the job, personal injury compensation experts report.
The worker, whose name has been withheld from the media for privacy reasons, had been working for Lincolnshire based Kestrel Timber Frame Ltd as a production worker at the time of the incident. According to accident claim experts, the worker sustained serious and permanent hand injuries while he was cutting insulation foam with the use of a table mounted circular saw in May of 2011.
The twenty year old worker’s hand was trapped in the blade, which severed his thumb and caused him to miss seven weeks of work. The employee has since returned to his job.
The Government’s Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the incident, with investigators finding that not only was the table too small to support the insulation properly, the circular saw’s height adjustment mechanism guard was damaged. This meant that employees had to cut the insulation without using a push stick but by their own hands without adequate guarding, investigators said.
Following a successful prosecution from the HSE, Kestrel Timber Frame Ltd entered a plea of guilty of being in breach of health and safety at work regulations. For neglecting to provide its employees with the proper equipment to carry out a potentially dangerous job in the safest manner possible, the timber firm was given a fine of £6,700 and also ordered to pay £4,117 in legal fees as well.
The injured worker may be entitled to a substantial compensation award for his injuries, if he decides to move forward with his plan to bring a work accident claim against his employers.