An accident at work has left an employee with permanent damage to his arm.
The 32-year-old worker was told by his site manager at a construction site in Huddersfield to use a heavy-duty core drill by hand. He was instructed to remove the 34kg, one-metre high diamond core device from its stand and instead hold it by hand to tackle the job.
This is specifically prohibited in the machine's instructions for use and, while the work was taking place, the drill's rotating core snagged on the blockwork and its body began to rotate. This spun the man round, leaving him with a double compound fracture to his right arm and cuts to his head.
He was hospitalised for 12 days and underwent three operations on his arm. This has left him with plates permanently inserted into the limb.
Martin Hutton, an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive, commented on the incident: “Construction has one of the highest fatality and injury levels of any industry. This incident, and others like it, could have been prevented by taking a few simple steps to identify and control the risks involved.
"Professional site management includes responsibility for managing the building process to ensure it is carried out without risk to health and safety.”
The victim might want to consider making an accident compensation claim against the manager for the injuries suffered.