TIMBER FIRM FINED £7,000 AFTER WORKER INJURES HAND
Written by author on August 26, 2015
A timber firm has been fined £7000 following an accident at a sawmill plant in Lockerbie in which a workman was severely injured and permanently scarred and impaired.
Scott Gordon was dragged into the machinery by the hand at the plant at Steven’s Croft in March last year.
And at Dumfries Sheriff Court, Forest Sawmills Limited, of Kidderminster, admitted a breach of the Health and Safety regulations.
The firm pleaded guilty to failing to effective measures to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery and that in particular that two twin band re-saw machines were adequately guarded to prevent access to dangerous parts.
The injured man, while operating one of the machines, was pulled into the machine by an in fed roller bar causing his hand to come into contact with the dangerous machinery parts.
Sheriff Brian Mohan said he took into consideration two failures by the firm – that the injured man had been allowed access to the machine without proper training and that there was no proper guarding on the machine.
But he added that he also took account mitigating factors a good recovery had been made and that he had been asked by another workman to take part in the work at the machine.
He also said that necessary steps had been taken to address matters.
