Industry news
Food firm fined as finger amputated
Posted Tue, 03 Jul 2012
A food production firm in the West Midlands has been prosecuted after a 16-year-old employee had his finger amputated after an accident at work.
The young worker actually injured several fingers on his right hand but the middle one was so badly damaged that it had to be removed and Phoenix Brands Ltd in Bilston was found guilty because its machinery was unguarded.
The victim was trying to clear a biscuit crumbing machine that was blocked, when the incident occurred on 25 November 2011, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the hopper and the screw conveyor were both unguarded.
The company pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court and was ordered to pay a fine of £7,000 as well as £4,000 in costs.
The worker, who cannot be named, is now 17 and left the firm after the accident because he only ever intended it to be a part-time job until he was able to begin a plumbing course at a college.
Copyright Press Association 2012