Fife Council has admitted to health and safety breaches after one of its workers lost a toe while cutting down a tree.
Janitor Craig Davies had been sent to Canmore Primary School in Dunfermline in January 2012 to cut back branches of an ash tree that had blown over in high winds. Realising the job was too big for him alone, Mr Davies contacted a colleague for assistance.
The two men cut back the tree's branches until they were left with the trunk and a single limb attached above shoulder height. Mr Davies climbed on to the trunk and began cutting through the bough. The limb then sheared away from the tree, landing on his foot and trapping it against the trunk.
Mr Davies required three surgical procedures but doctors were unable to save one of his toes. He spent three months recuperating before returning to work.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Fife Council failed to properly assess the risks to employees in the educational facilities service while undertaking chainsaw operations. The probe also found the local authority had failed to maintain a safe system of work and provide sufficient training and supervision to enable them to undertake chainsaw work.
Fife Council admitted charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. They were fined £20,000 at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Following the case, HSE Inspector Kerry Cringan, said, "The failures by Fife Council resulted in Mr Davies suffering a significant and serious injury. Chainsaw operations are, by their very nature, hazardous. Fife Council, having reached a position where these employees had the most basic of chainsaw qualifications, dispatched them to single-handedly tackle a job that was far in excess of their capabilities.
As a result they found themselves in a situation outside of their experience, but without recognising it was beyond their abilities.”
