Worker is injured in warehouse horror
A FIRM must pay £32,000 after a worker had to have two toes partly amputated when his foot was crushed in an horrific accident.
The man was refurbishing machinery at the Shop Direct warehouse in Shaw, Oldham, when part of it fell on to his foot, trapping him underneath. Firefighters were called to the scene and released him.
His injuries were so severe his second and third toes had to be cut back to the knuckle and his other three toes required surgery.
The incident took place on April 28 last year as staff from Northamptonshire-based Logistex Limited were carrying out the work at the Linney Lane warehouse.
It involved replacing sensors on the lift part of the equipment, known as automated storage and retrieval system, which weighed about 800kg.
An investigation found workers had activated the emergency stop circuit and presumed this would prevent the machine operating while the work was carried out. But power to the control panel was still switched on.
As the employee was replacing the sensors the lift unexpectedly dropped, trapping his foot between the machine and the frame of the truck on which he was standing.
An investigation by Oldham council found that the refurbishment work had been ‘poorly planned and inadequately risk assessed,’ with work being carried out on equipment when it still had power. The local authority prosecuted Logistex Limited under the Health and Safety at Work Act and Regulation the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Logistex pleaded guilty to two charges at Tameside magistrates court and was fined £12,000 for each offence plus £8,705.40 costs. There was also a victim surcharge of £170.
Coun Arooj Shah, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “This was an extremely serious incident that left the employee involved seriously injured. This case highlights the need for businesses to ensure that they provide a safe environment for their workers and that all possible steps are taken to make sure this happens.
“We’ll take action against any company that causes accidents and injury through such negligence.”