The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have stressed the importance to employers of the need to regularly inspect and maintain their equipment to protect their workforce. This follows the prosecution of a Birmingham company after an incident which left a Derbyshire worker with horrific hand injuries.
Severn Trent Water Ltd was fined £19,750 and ordered to pay £6,730 costs by Nottingham Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. On 24 May 2006, the employee in question was trying to unblock a machine used for removing debris from sludge at Toton Sewage Treatment Works when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The interlock on the machine's lid was damaged, leaving the dangerous parts in the machine unguarded. He lost four fingers and part of his palm.
HSE Inspector David Butter said, "This was an entirely avoidable accident which resulted in a man losing four fingers. Injuries from poorly-maintained equipment remain a significant and regular problem nationwide and companies must make sure that equipment is regularly inspected and maintained so workers aren't exposed to this kind of risk."
