Personal injury news

Company fined after work accident sees
man dragged into drill

A construction company has been fined £50,000 after a work accident resulted in an employee suffering horrific personal injuries at a building site in Middlesex.

CET Group, a Maidstone-based construction and engineering firm, were fined £20,000 for breaching health and safety regulations and also ordered to pay £30,000 in costs at London Magistrates' Court.

They were summoned to court after 42-year-old Mark Cousins was dragged into a lorry-mounted rotating drill as he dug a borehole for the company in March 2004. Unable to free himself from the powerful equipment, he was left with a shattered forearm, a broken femur, a smashed humerus, damaged ribs and severe bruising.

Following the work accident, investigators discovered CET had not carried out a proper risk assessment before Mr Cousins was instructed to use the machinery. In addition, the drill was not fitted with adequate protection and its emergency stop button was faulty.

A health and safety inspector said, "Accidents such as the one suffered by Mark Cousins are notably foreseeable when using such large, dangerous pieces of machinery without the proper safeguards being in place.

"The need for proper risk assessment and the provision of effective guards or other protection devices are well known within the industry."

Mr Cousins is still receiving medical treatment as a result of the work accident, and it is unknown if he is planning to make a compensation claim against the CET Group.