Posted on 30 September 2010

Company fined after worker has arm crushed in accident

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A Peterborough fabric manufacturer has been fined following an workplace accident which left a worker with a badly broken arm.

Robert Dunn, an agency worker, was working on a fabric winding machine when his arm was drawn into the roll of material. It was crushed, breaking all three bones in the arm whilst he also ripped the cartilage in his left knee because of the sudden movement. The break in his arm was so bad that he had to have metal plates inserted to support the bones.

At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, E-Leather Limited admitted breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £13,500 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.

A subsequent investigation by the HSE found that some of the dangerous parts of the machinery had inadequate safety guards while there was insufficient and unsuitable risk assessment in place.

HSE Inspector Alison Ashworth said: “Robert Dunn suffered a terrible injury because of an incident that was entirely avoidable. Proper safety guards play an important role in protecting workers from dangerous moving parts and the company had a responsibility to ensure suitable guarding was in place. Had a suitable and sufficient risk assessment been carried out then this issue would have been highlighted straight away.”