Europlast fined £66,000 after worker loses four fingers in unguarded machine.

Packaging company Europlast (Blackburn) Ltd was  fined £66,055 (inc.costs) after a worker’s hand became trapped in machinery.

The circumstances were:

• It was possible to reach dangerous parts of a bubble wrap machine.
• The HSE had prosecuted Europlast id 2012 for serious hand injuries in a similar machine.
• The arrangements for cleaning the machine were that is was done when it was running.
• On 11 August 2015, a worker was cleaning the machine when his left hand became trapped between rollers, causing four of his fingers to be severed. 
• The company failed to report the incident until nine months later, which significantly delayed investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and left other employees at risk.

The HSE inspector said:
“These were life-changing injuries that could have been prevented. Sadly, in this case lessons from previous incidents had not been learned.  Duty holders should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”