Industry news
Worker's fingertip cut off in Stoke
Posted Thu, 16 Feb 2012
Fenton Magistrates' Court has fined a company £10,000 after a worker lost the tip of his right middle finger in an incident in Stoke-on-Trent last year.
Air conditioning manufacturer Eaton Williams Group Ltd, which trades under the name of Colman Moducel and is registered in Fircroft Way, Edenbridge, Kent, admitted breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was also ordered to pay £4,105 in costs.
The 41-year-old man, who wished to remain anonymous, was using a circular saw to trim metal parts when the incident happened at the company's premises at Oldfields Business Park, Birrell Street, Fenton, on 16 February 2011. He came into contact with the saw's blade, which cut off his fingertip.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an investigation and found that it was unsafe for employees to operate the saw as it lacked basic protection devices such as push sticks. The HSE also said the machine's emergency stop control button did not work and its brakes were ineffective.
Copyright Press Association 2012