Firm fined £8,000 over arm accident
31/03/2010
A construction company has been fined £8,163 after an employee lost one of his arms in a workplace accident.
Huddersfield Magistrates' Court heard that Morgan Est had been carrying out refurbishment works on a water treatment facility in Holmfirth when an employee's arm came into contact with a rotating screw conveyor.
Subsequent investigations by the Health and Safety Executive found that a fixed guard on the piece of equipment had been removed to allow clearance of a blockage. While such blockages had occurred before, the machine had been isolated before the guard was removed.
Morgan accepted that a risk assessment carried out at the site had been sub-standard and that the accident had happened because the guard had been removed without isolating the machine.
The firm was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,163.
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