Firm fined for worker's hand injury
20/07/2010
A worker lost the use of his hand after an accident at a factory in County Durham last year, a court has been told.
The 55-year-old lathe operator was wearing safety gloves at the time, when the accident happened in June 2009.
Conder Solutions Ltd, based in Peterlee, pleaded guilty to health and safety offences and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £2,759 in costs.
Peterlee Magistrates's Court was told how the worker was using emery cloth to polish a piece of rotating metal at the firm's plant in South West Industrial Estate. The lathe's shaft and cutting tool then ripped his right hand off when he accidentally touched it.
It was re-attached after five operations, but the man still has no feeling in the appendage to this day.
Cain Mitchell, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, said: "This employee suffered an extremely painful and possibly life-changing injury because Conder Solutions Limited failed to take measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of the lathe and to ensure a safe system of work was being used.
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