Employee Health and Safety Incident at Animal Feed Location
An animal feed company is being fined for an employee incident. The Lancashire-based company was directly responsible for a young employee losing his fingers because of the machinery onsite. The HSE investigated with health and safety audits to determine the exact cause of the finger loss for the 25-year-old worker.
It was found that the worker was trying to get a blockage out of the machine when his hand became caught at the Oakenclough Mill factory. He was able to open the doors of the machinery while it was still operating. It is something that was preventable and should not have occurred. The doors should be locked when they are in motion. This is a simple health and safety measure that needed to be in place, but it was not the scenario in the tragic incident that happened in 2010.
The worker was able to open the doors and try to get the blockage out of the way. His hand was caught in the machine rollers, thus his middle finger was lost due to crushing injuries. The court listened to accounts of the incident where the door was supposed to have a lock to prevent it being opened, but the lock was not being used. The company has been fined for the incident for more than £2,000 with other costs as part of the monies owed. The company had the duty to make certain the lock was being used when the machine was in motion.
