Manufacturer fined after worker left paralysed
A manufacturing firm has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker was left paralysed from the chest down.
The 65-year-old man from Worcester, had been working for Mountfield CNC at its site at Berry Hill Industrial Estate in Droitwich. On January 4 2022, the man had been setting up a CNC machine when he became entangled with the machine’s rotating saw.
This led to him suffering a fractured neck resulting in him becoming paralysed from the chest down.
A HSE investigation into the incident found that Mountfield CNC failed to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of the CNC machine.
The machine was fitted with interlocked guards, but the interlocks had been defeated before the incident – allowing the machine to move without guards in place. The HSE says that the company should have identified the need for effective interlocking guards and monitored safeguards to ensure they had not been tampered with.
Mountfield CNC pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,094 at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 July 2023.
HSE inspector Harry Shaw said: “This life-changing injury was easily preventable, and the risk should have been identified. Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.”
This HSE prosecution was supported by HSE enforcement lawyer Nathan Cook.
