13/10/2010 - Firm fined over worker head injury
The owner of a Bristol lighting company has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £1,800 costs after an employee was injured by unsafe machinery in an incident in February.
Darren Wring, who owns Fineline, based in Clevedon Road, Failand, North Somerset, pleaded guilty to regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 at Weston-super-Mare Magistrates' Court.
Rolf Weber sustained minor head injuries after entering the working area of a machine to remove a finished work piece and inadvertently hitting his head on the cutter which was still rotating at full speed.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Christine Haberfield said: "Fortunately, Mr Weber's injuries were fairly minor, but the cutter on which he hit his head was rotating at 18,000rpm and he could have been very seriously injured or even killed.
"It is vital that dangerous machinery is properly safeguarded. In this case, the cutting area should have been enclosed with doors that were linked to the operation of the machine to prevent anybody going into the danger area while the machine was running. People can help prevent similar incidents by checking machinery safeguards regularly, to make sure that they are still working correctly."
To make matters worse, Mr Wring could incur higher liability insurance premiums in the future as a result of this unfortunate workplace accident.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
