A printing company in Pontypridd has been fined after a worker’s hand got caught in a piece of machinery.
The incident occurred when 51-year-old Eiron Atkins, from Pontypridd, was starting up a rotary textile printer at firm Treforest Textiles, Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court heard last month. He had been operating the equipment for more than 20 years so was familiar with how it worked, but on 16th May 2013 the printer failed to start, despite three attempts by Mr Atkins to start it.
Believing that some excess water had got into the machine or that it was affected by the electrics, Mr Atkins removed one of the metal panels on the side of the printer thinking it would allow for air to circulate and dry the machine. However, as he crouched down to take a closer look, Mr Atkins slipped and had his hand dragged into the belt of the printer.
As a result of the incident, Mr Atkins lost parts of three fingers on his right hand and he was off work for ten weeks. He has suffered extreme sensitivity to the cold in his injured hand as a result of the incident and has also suffered other difficulties due to a loss of motor function in the affected hand.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation determined that Treforest Textiles Ltd had failed to make sure that work was being carried out safely at the site. It did not have any systems in place to protect its workers from the moving belts once the removable side panels had been detached. In addition, the panels had no locks to prevent them from being removed.
The company was fined £5000 for the incident, along with £1184 in prosecution costs after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Chris Woods, Solicitor at Russell Worth, said: “This incident was entirely avoidable. Had Treforest Textiles ensured that the machinery was appropriately guarded then the incident would not have happened and Mr Atkins would have not have suffered such significant and permanent injuries to his right hand.”
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