A manufacturing company has been fined after an apprentice suffered serious injuries in a workplace accident.
The 18-year-old apprentice had been working for the company for less than a year and was still learning how to operate machinery. His shirt became caught in a radial-arm drill and he was pulled into the machine, suffering three broken ribs. He underwent skin grafts and was in hospital for five days. He was unable to work for six months after the accident, and now has permanent scarring and a loss of feeling on the side of his chest.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of its employees. Its radial-arm drills had inadequate guarding and machine operators had not been trained on how to use their safety features. The radial-arm drill involved in the accident had been modified in a way that increased the risk of operators getting caught and pulled into it.
After the HSE prosecuted the company, it pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £187,600 and ordered to pay £7,464 in costs.