Packaging firm fined after worker loses fingers
A PACKAGING company based in Golborne has been fined £3,500 after being prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive following an incident in which a worker lost two fingers.
Arrow Flexible Packaging pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates Court in Sale last week following an incident on November 23 2010 when Karen Schoelzel lost her index finger and part of her middle finger.
Mrs Schoelzel had been replacing the rubber seal on a machine when it started operating and the tool came down on her left hand. She has been unable to return to work since the incident.
A subsequent HSE investigation found suitable guards were not in place to prevent workers gaining access to the cutting tool while the machine was operating, and that it was common practice for employees to change the rubber on the tool without the power to the machine being cut.
The investigation was unable to confirm what caused the machine to start operating when the rubber insert was being replaced, but it found the buttons which operated it were unsuitable and could have been pressed by accident.
The company pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to prevent access to dangerous machine parts. Alongside the £3,500 fine it was ordered to pay £1,000 in prosecution costs.
Mrs Schoelzel said: “I can no longer do the job that I did, and will be limited to the types of jobs I can do in the future. I am affected by how I do everyday things such as gardening, shopping and even eating, because using cutlery is difficult.
“I used to go out socialising once a fortnight and now I don’t want to go. I haven’t been out socially since my accident happened.”
Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector at HSE, Emily Osborne, said: “A worker has been left with a life-long injury and has been unable to return to work as a result of an incident which could easily have been avoided.
“There should have been suitable guards and safety devices fitted to the machine to make it impossible for employees to gain access to the dangerous cutting tool while it was in operation.”
