Newcastle factory pay out after employee suffers horrific head injuries
A Newcastle-based manufacturing company has been fined £10,000 after a worker suffered horrific head injuries when he became trapped in a machine.
What happened?
Desmond Salkeld, 65, was investigating a fault on a hot wire cutting machine when his head became trapped in the moving machinery.
Mr Salkeld was rushed to hospital after sustaining major injuries; including a hole in the bridge of his nose, shattered eye sockets, and a bleed on the brain. Surgeons were forced to take bone from the right hand side of his skull in order to reconstruct his face during a nine-hour operation.
Despite planning to return to work, Mr Salkeld has had to retire as he still suffers from blurred vision and is unlikely to ever fully recover from his injuries.
What was the outcome?
An investigation into the incident found that, not only had the machine’s fixed safety guard been removed but it also hadn’t been isolated from its power source.
Springvale EPS Ltd has now been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £1,244.40 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
After the case, HSE Inspector Sal Brecken said:
This incident was easily preventable had Springvale EPS Ltd
adequately assessed the risks of this particular
maintenance activity, developed safe working
procedures and informed their employees.”
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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