Bespoke in Oak Limited – a luxury kitchen manufacturer based in Northampton – has been fined this week after a court heard how health and safety failings led to one of its workers having two fingers amputated.
Northampton Magistrates’ Court was told that the incident took place at the end of October 2014.
The worker, who has not been named, caught his right hand on a revolving cutting block and sustained serious injuries as a result.
A later investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the equipment used in the incident was not suitable for use in manual mode and neither was it protected by safety guards.
Ignoring its duty as a company, Bespoke in Oak Limited also failed to provide sufficient training to the worker on how to correctly use the woodworking machine before the incident.
Companies using hand-fed machines have had a legal requirement since 2003 to ensure that cutter projection tooling is in place, which ensures that a machine operator’s hand is better protected if contact is made with the moving parts.
Bespoke in Oak Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 4(1), 11(1), 9(1) and 9(2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
The company was served with a fine for £40,000 and it was also ordered to pay the full costs incurred, amounting to £1,896.
HSE inspector Neil Ward, commenting on the case, said: “This case involved an entirely avoidable accident. The worker’s fingers were so badly injured that surgeons had to amputate.
“The worker was unable to work for three months and more than a year after the accident, he is still unable to do any heavy work.
“The defendant company fell far short of a safe and reasonable standard in its duties under health and safety legislation.”