A St Helens steel manufacturer has been sentenced after a worker suffered serious injuries to his left hand when it was pulled into machinery.
Hi Tech Steel Services Ltd. was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at its factory at Bold Industrial Estate on Neills Road on 25 June 2011.
The 43-year-old from Thatto Heath received a cut, six and a half centimetres in length, between the third and ring finger on his left hand. He also suffered crush injuries to the tips of his fingers.
St Helens Magistrates' Court heard the worker had been able to gain access to a machine, used to produce reels of thin steel strips, while it was still operating. He was taping up the end of one of the strips to stop it flapping about in the machine when his hand was pulled in.
Hi Tech Steel Services pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences after it failed to ensure the safety of its employees (Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974), and failed to carry out a suitable assessment of the risks to workers (Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999). The company was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,797 in prosecution costs on Friday 27 April 2012.