Pinguin fined as man loses finger
23/07/2010
A fine of £10,000 has been imposed on a frozen vegetable supplier after a worker had to have his finger amputated when his hand was crushed in an industrial accident.
Pinguin Food Ltd was also ordered to pay full costs of £3,500 at Boston Magistrates' Court after admitting breaching section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 in connection with the incident on February 10 last year.
The court heard that the man, who worked on an automatic palletising machine with an attached perspex guard, routinely went into the enclosure while the machinery was in operation at the plant in Marsh Lane, Riverside Industrial Estate, Boston, Lincolnshire.
In the incident, his fingers were caught between a pallet and the conveyor. His middle finger was amputated from the tip to the first knuckle as a result and he was absent from work for six months.
A Health and Safety (HSE) investigation discovered that some workers at the factory had been given interlock parts which effectively overrode the safety systems in place and allowed access to the enclosure.
Copyright © Press Association 2010