09 Aug 2011
A printing firm has been fined £7,500 after an employee had his hand mutilated by the machine he was working on.
John Stagg, a print manager, required plastic surgery after the incident which saw him lose his middle finger to the first joint and the nail and a section of his ring finger. He also suffered a fracture to his index finger in the incident that took place on September 10 2010.
Mr Stagg had worked for the firm on the Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate, Ipswich for 20 years when the accident happened.
Ipswich Magistrates’ Court was told Mr Stagg, 40, got his right hand caught when attempting to clear a blockage from beneath a stacking machine’s conveyor belt.
A fixed guard would have stopped Mr Stagg reaching the toothed cogs of the machine, but that had been removed, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who also discovered 20 other safety devices had been disabled around the factory.
Ancient House Press admitted breaching regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. The company was also ordered to pay £8,272 costs.
Copyright Press Association 2011