Langford mushroom firm fined after worker's arm crushed

Date:

7 September 2011

A Langford mushroom farm worker's arm was broken in two places when he was dragged into a net cleaning machine, a court in North Somerset has heard.

Krysztof Moskalik, 32, from Poland, was using the machine for the first time while working for Drimbawn (UK) Ltd, part of the Monaghan Mushrooms Group, when the incident occurred on 18 November 2010.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Drimbawn after investigating the incident. North Somerset Magistrates Court heard Mr Moskalik was using a specialist washing machine to clean the nets used to cover the mushroom beds at the farm. The nets were fed through the machine to be washed, but the clamping mechanism which held them in place as they went in was ineffective.

HSE discovered safety devices were deliberately removed to allow workers to hold the nets in place by hand as the machine was running, with the safety cover open. This practice had become customary at the farm.

Using the same method as his colleagues, Mr Moskalik guided the net into the machine but within moments his hand got entangled in the dangerous moving part and his arm was dragged into the rotating mechanisms. He suffered a double break to his arm and extensive soft tissue damage.

In addition to the safety devices on the machine being disabled and the practice of operators holding the net in place while the machine was running, HSE also found Mr Moskalik had received no training for using the machine.

Speaking after sentencing, HSE inspector, Christine Haberfield, said:

"Mr Moskalik suffered a severe injury and, nine months on, he is still not in a position to return to work.

"Machines of all sizes can cause serious injury if not used correctly. By disabling the safety mechanisms on this machine and allowing workers to feed it by hand, Drimbawn not only failed Mr Moskalik but all the other workers who used the machine and who could also have easily been injured.

"It is vital that safety devices on machines are used and checked to make sure they work properly all the time, and that anyone operating them is trained beforehand so that they know how to use them safely."

Drimbawn (UK) Ltd of Stock Lane, Langford, North Somerset, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 9 (1) and 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £32,000 with £3,624.59 in costs.

Notes to editors

1. 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
2. Regulations 9 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken."
3. Regulations 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: "Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken which are effective-
   1. to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or
   2. to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone."

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