22/10/2010 - Firm fined over workers' injuries
A company that makes rubber hoses has been hit with a hefty £12,000 fine after three employees were injured using the same piece of machinery over two months.
Chichester-based Oldham Seals Limited was also ordered to pay costs of £4,151.25 after it pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws. Chichester Magistrates' Court heard that a hose builder had part of his index finger removed and his thumb amputated after a bandage that had been wrapped around a hose mounted on a rotating machine part - called a lathe - wound itself round his left hand, pulling it into the machine.
The Health and Safety Executive probe found that two separate incidents had already taken place on the piece of machinery before this accident. A different worker suffered bruising and cuts to his torso when his glove became entangled in the machine and he was pulled towards the rotating parts.
A third worker at the firm was winding a rope around a hose he was building on a lathe when his leg was caught and he was pulled towards the machine. The rope snapped but he suffered severe lacerations to his left leg.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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