Industry news roundup: week ended 7 Jan 2013:
While bacon is one of those wonderful foods that nearly everyone enjoys eating, it was revealed this week that one man has reason to dislike the foodstuff.
Orbital Foods Ltd worker Rui Sousa suffered massive crush injuries to his arm in a personal injury at work after it was caught in a bacon press machine at Orbital’s Chapel Pond Hill location in an incident that occurred in March of 2012. The engineer had been working to recondition the machine when the accident happened, but unbeknownst to him the press’ safety feature had been overridden, and the machine’s power and air supply were still connected as Mr Sousa undertook his work, only to have the press suddenly start up, crushing his arm in the process.
The poor man will mos likely never be able to think of bacon the same way again after suffering such severe injury, all because someone had either meddled with the machine or had not realised that the safety feature of the press was no longer working as it was supposed to. Unfortunately for Mr Sousa’s employer, the Health and Safety Executive got wind of the incident, launching an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the engineer’s injuries and discovering that not only had there been no safe system of work put in place by Orbital Foods but that there had not been any risk assessments carried out regarding the use or maintenance of the bacon press that flattened Mr Sousa’s arm – and left him with most likely a lifelong aversion to bacon as well.
The HSE proseuted Orbital Foods to the hilt for violating health and safety violations. The company folded under the watchdog’s onslaught, entering a guilty plea at Magistrates’ Court recently and walking away with more than £10,000 in fines and court costs combined; bad luck for Orbital Foods but not unexpected.
There’s no word on whether Mr Sousa will be seeking personal injury compensation for his injuries, but it can only be assumed that such a lawsuit may already be underway. Hopefully the injured engineer’s personal injury lawyers will secure a sizable damages award for him.