Brighton Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 25th April 2018, an experienced worker was making concrete screen wall blocks at Thakeham Tiles’s premises in Storrington, West Sussex, when his hand became trapped and was crushed by the machine he was using.
The worker broke three fingers and a thumb and needed surgery to stabilise his hand.
The subsequent investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the machine had been not been properly guarded for years.
Thakeham Tiles Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £26,667 and ordered to pay £3,560 costs.
HSE inspector Russell Beckett said after the hearing: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by having suitable guarding on the machine and systems in place to periodically check machine safety.”
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