An employee of a sweet factory has suffered an injury at work, which left him without the end of his finger.
The 25-year-old from Blackpool was working on a machine at the factory in Blackpool when a blockage was identified. He attempted to remove it but his left hand was pulled in and his index finger severed to the top knuckle.
An investigation into the injury by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the employee had been able to reach the rotating parts of the machine, even while it was turned on. In court, the company pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 due to its failure to ensure that the machine stopped when the guard was removed.
Anthony Banks, the investigating inspector from the HSE, commented: “This incident has resulted in a worker suffering a permanent injury but it should simply never have been allowed to happen.
“If this guard has been in place at the time of the incident then one of the company’s employees would not have lost part of his index finger.”
The injured employee could consider making an accident compensation claim against the firm as a result of the incident.