In an accident compensation case where a food manufacturing firm worker crushed three of her fingers in a packaging machine, the accused company has been ordered to pay 94,523 pounds in fines and costs.
The incident happened at Tulip Limited’s site in
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 on June 17, 2009. It also admitted its failure to make a sufficient risk assessment of the Multivac machine and to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery.
In a recent hearing, Norwich Crown Court slapped a fine of 65,000 pounds on the company and ordered it to pay costs of 29,523 pounds.
Commenting on the case, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector Steven Gill noted the perils of operating these machines and said that they can cause serious harm. He added that the accident could have been avoided had the company checked how safe the machinery was and had taken precautions to protect its staff.
Gill also revealed that the company’s own safety audit had highlighted the guarding defects, but the company did nothing to correct them. He urged companies to have systems in place for not only identifying defects but also ensuring that defects are remedied immediately.
Gill also called upon employers to adopt a policy were all workers, even those whose first language is not English, receive appropriate instruction and training on the use of such machinery.
The health and safety consultants from Workplace Law Training can help organisations to effectively manage their occupational health and safety environment risks, and can help in managing the consequences of an incident accident investigation; to identify and make recommendations of an accident to prevent a re-occurrence with the aim to get your business up and running in the event of an accident or an improvement or prohibition notice.
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