Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Company fined after young worker suffers 'life changing' injuries
A waste management company has been prosecuted after a worker was left with life changing injuries. Chippenham Magistrates Court heard how the 19-year-old worker and his colleagues had cleared a blockage from the waste picking line, when his gloved hand got caught in the conveyor belt. The roller fractured his right hand, dislocated his wrist and radius and he had to spend two weeks in hospital following the incident.
The investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found that there was no effective guarding around the conveyor belt to prevent workers' hands from being caught up in the mechanism.
MJ Church (Plant), of Chippenham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,549.53 and a victim surcharge of £170.
"A young worker's life was changed forever because a company failed to ensure there was the correct guarding in place on a conveyor belt," said HSE Inspector Tania Nickson, after the Judgment. "A year after the incident he still requires medical treatment and is unlikely to gain full use of his right hand. All companies that work with dangerous machinery can learn from this case - straightforward precautions protect workers' safety."
More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at:
23rd February 2017