Safety Signs News

Metalworking firm fined following worker's severed hand

23rd July 2010 | Health and Safety Signs

A metalworking company from Peterlee has been fined after one of its employees lost his hand in a workplace incident.

The 55-year-old man was polishing a rotating metal shaft on a lathe at the South West Industrial Estate on June 3rd 2009 when his right hand was ripped off.

Although surgeons re-attached the hand, five operations and five weeks in hospital failed to give the man any feeling in it and he has been unable to work ever since.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that his employer, Conder Solutions, had not used measures such as warning signs to prevent access to the dangerous sections of the lathe.

The company appeared at Peterlee Magistrates' Court and was fined Ã‚Â£15,000, as well as being ordered to pay costs of Ã‚Â£2,759.

"This employee suffered an extremely painful and possibly life-changing injury because Conder Solutions Limited failed to ensure a safe system of work was being used," said HSE inspector Cain Mitchell.

The news comes after another company, Prospect Joinery, was fined after one of its workers suffered a severed finger while feeding wood into a machine.

Posted by Nicole Stevens ADNFCR-2754-ID-19905547-ADNFCR