Manufacturer fined £100,000 after HSE prosecution

A plastic and paper manufacturing company has been fined £100,000 after a worker suffered crush injuries.

Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of Euro Packaging UK was injured at the company’s Yardley site in December 2016.

His hand was drawn into the print rollers while he was attempting to clean the running machine resulting in partial amputation of two fingers.

“This case serves as a reminder to industry that planning and guarding of machinery requires regular reviews and monitoring to ensure workplace safety,” said Health and Safety Executive inspector Karl Raw. “The need to review machinery guarding is a positive benefit to improving workplace safety.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the lack of guarding on the machine was the root cause of this incident together with a lack of training and supervision.

Euro Packaging pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,503.