A road surfacing company has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in fines and costs upon being found guilty of health and safety failings.
Coldmac Ltd, Scunthorpe, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after one of its employees sustained serious hand injuries while working on the surfacing of a new pavement in April 2015.
A Court heard that the worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, was using a screwdriver to manually scrape asphalt residue off a mixer, when the mixer slipped and landed on his hand.
Upon being rushed to hospital, the employee’s hand was found to be so badly injured that his middle and index fingers had to be surgically removed.
An HSE investigation carried out after the event revealed that the guarding on the mixing machine used by the unfortunate employee was far below required safety standards.
Coldmac Ltd was charged with health and safety breaches under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The Scunthorpe-based company pleaded guilty. It was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of almost £2,000.
Speaking after the ruling, HSE inspector Luke Messenger said: “This case highlights the importance of safety checking equipment and machinery, ensuring that they have the appropriate guarding in place to avoid serious injuries like this”.