Plastic products manufacturer fined after worker suffers burn injuries

A manufacturer of plastic products has been fined after an employee, suffered burn injuries when his hand became trapped in a sanding machine.

The Magistrates’ Court heard how the gentleman was instructed to put his hand on a moving rubber roller to check its temperature during routine maintenance of the roller and when doing this, his hand was pulled in and became trapped between the moving roller and the structure of the machine resulting in burn injuries which required surgery.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 19 October 2016, found the system of work for carrying out the maintenance of the roller was unsafe.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,921.20.

After the hearing the HSE inspector said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working. If a suitable, safe system of work had been in place prior to the incident, the injuries sustained by the genleman could have been prevented.”