27/10/2010 - Man fined after worker loses limb
A partner in a family-run farming firm has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £1,698 in costs after a man had to have his leg amputated when he attempted to clear a blockage on a harvesting machine.
Peter Turnbull, of Grange Farm, Sinnington, near York, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Regulations 1998 for allowing someone under his control to enter a danger zone while dangerous parts were still operating.
Scarborough Magistrates' Court heard how the 23-year-old unnamed worker was employed by GR Turnbull & Sons to help cut forage maize at Skipsters Hagg Farm at Appleton-le-Moors, near Pickering, on November 9, 2009.
When a blockage occurred in the cutting disc of the harvester, Mr Turnbull attempted to clear the blockage by reversing the drive mechanism. When that failed, he left his seat to clear it by hand, leaving the machine running.
The hired worker came to assist but while in the process of clearing the blockage the man's leg was caught in the harvester's rotating cutting discs, and paramedics took the decision to amputate the limb at the scene.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
