SUBSTANTIAL FINE AFTER EMPLOYEE LOSES FINGERS

A Doncaster company has been found guilty of health and safety breaches after an employee had three fingers severed by a 500kg weight. The 27-year-old man, who does not wish to be named, was working for piling and foundation company, Edlington Optima Foundations Ltd, when the incident happened on 6 February 2012. He was loading a section of casing when the rig operator lowered a 500kg weight onto his hand, causing three of his fingers to be severed to the palm. Doctors were unable to re-attach them, leaving the man with permanent damage to his right hand. The court heard that Optima Foundations Ltd had no system of signals or verbal instruction which would prevent such an accident happening. Their makeshift method involved the rig operator being the judge of when it was appropriate to lower the weight. HSE inspector Martin Giles described how serious this carelessness of the company had been. He said, "Had the weight been properly positioned for the length of tube being inserted, and had there been a recognised and agreed method of communicating that it was safe to receive the weight, then the incident could have avoided completely and he wouldn't have suffered such life-changing injuries. Optima Foundations Ltd pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay £15,000 in fines and £8,171 in costs by Lincolnshire Magistrates' Court