The employee of a printing firm has been left with a mutilated hand following an injury at work.
During the night shift at the Ipswich company, the 40-year-old concerned attempted to clear a blockage from underneath a conveyor belt on a stacking machine. However, his right hand became caught in the toothed cogs and he suffered a fracture to his index finger, his middle finger was severed to its first joint and the nail and a section of his ring finger were also lost.
The man received plastic surgery for his injuries and was off work for seven months following the accident.
Paul Unwin, Health and Safety Executive inspector, commented on the incident: “This was a serious and entirely preventable incident which left this employee with horrific injuries which he will never fully recover from.
"The fixed guard would have prevented access to the dangerous moving parts of the machine while it was running, and looked as if it had been missing for several weeks, if not months.”
The victim might now want to look into making an accident compensation claim for his injuries and the time he was forced to take off work.