Firm fined GBP 8k after man loses fingers in accident at work

25/08/2010

A company has been fined GBP 8,000 after a man lost some of his fingers in an accident at work.

Gary Burke, 45, was working for Formica Ltd on Coast Road, North Shields, on November 20th 2009 when the incident occurred.

His glove became caught in a machine and his hand was drawn between two metal guide rollers.

Mr Burke lost his little finger and part of the other fingers on his right hand in the accident.

He hopes that doctors will be able to re-construct two of his fingers in order to give him some function back.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Andrea Robbins said: "The incident could have easily been prevented if the company had implemented safe systems of work for fault finding and ensured that guards were in place to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of the machine."

Last month, United Biscuits (UK) Ltd was fined GBP 10,000 after a female employee lost two of her fingers in a mixing machine.

Posted by Verity Taylor

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