Blackburn firm prosecuted after teenager seriously injured

Date:

14 October 2010

Release No:

HSE/NW/39Gap

A Lancashire plastics company has appeared in court after a teenage apprentice suffered serious injuries when his arm was dragged into a machine.

The worker, from Blackburn, who asked not be named, dislocated his left shoulder and broke his arm on 6 May 2008 while working at General All Purpose (GAP) Plastic's Blackburn factory on Partnership Way.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company following an investigation, which found that the company did not take adequate steps to prevent access to the most dangerous parts of the machine.

The machine which injured the teenage worker

The apprentice, who was just 17 at the time, was helping to assemble decorative panels for doors when he was dragged in between two rollers while trying to clear a jam. More than two years after the incident, he has still not regained full use of his hand.

Carlisle Magistrates' Court heard that GAP Plastics should have provided fixed guards covering dangerous parts of the machine. The additional risk posed by the worker's lack of experience had also not been assessed.

Michael Griffiths, the investigating inspector at HSE, said:

"This was a particularly nasty incident which left a young man with long-term and potentially debilitating injuries. It is essential that companies assess the safety of the machinery they use. In this case the way in which the machinery was configured meant that it had become dangerous.

"The CE 'European Safety' marking on a machine is an indication as to the standards that the machine has been designed and manufactured to - it is not a guarantee that the machine will be perfectly safe in all circumstances.

"Employers should always check the safety of their machines for the way they are used on site. Otherwise, there is the potential for workers to be put at risk of serious injury or even death."

General All Purpose (GAP) Plastics Ltd, of Partnership Way, Shadsworth Business Park, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £4,500 towards the cost of prosecution.

There were 32 deaths and more than 22,000 serious injuries in the manufacturing sector in Great Britain last year. Information on improving safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing.

Notes to editors

1. Section 11 of the provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998 states that every employer should ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery...
2. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk

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