Engineering company fined after employee’s injuries
Cope Engineering Ltd has been in court after one of its employees suffered serious injuries when he was dragged into moving parts of a machine.
What happened?
Peter Wilson was working at the Manchester-based plant, when he reached over to adjust the machine. As he did, the sleeve of his overalls was caught by the screws on a rotating three-metre-long cylinder, pulling him in and twisting him around.
Despite a colleague pushing the emergency stop button and cutting Mr Wilson’s overalls to stop them from becoming more entangled, the 58-year-old sustained injuries to his back and knee, and required 12 stiches in his arm.
He was off work for seven weeks as a result of the accident.
An investigation found that the firm hadn’t ensured that satisfactory measures were in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machine.
A court later heard that the firm had since made changes to its working practices, including operating the machine at the slower speed, changing employee’s clothing and removing protruding screws from the cylinders.
What was the outcome?
The firm plead guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, and was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £3,767 costs.
HSE Inspector Helen Mansfield said:
“Workers at the factory were put at a significant risk of their clothes
becoming entangled on a daily basis so it was almost inevitable
that someone would eventually be injured.
“Cope Engineering should have carried out a proper assessment of the risks faced by
workers, and then acted to tackle the dangers. If the measures the company
implemented following the incident had been in place sooner,
then Peter’s injuries could have been avoided.”
If you have been affected by an accident at work, and you would like expert advice, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email
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