Compensation news
16/12/2010

Steel man's arm crushed in work-related accident

An Edinburgh company, which had been advised by health and safety inspectors to improve procedures, has been fined £50,000 after an employee suffered a badly-broken arm and hand in a work-related accident.

In July 2009, an HSE visit had highlighted the need for the steel fabricating business to have proper lifting equipment and improve its training and supervision of workers.

But the following month when an employee was marking steel plates, which each weighed two tonnes, his right arm was crushed when one dropped from the crane hook holding it 18 inches above his working area.

The company admitted that it had failed to have a safe system for lifting the plates and had not provided employees with sufficient information, instruction or training to ensure their health and safety.

The industrial injury victim needed surgery on his forearm to insert a six-inch plate in it and pins in fractures to the middle finger of his right hand.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that the employee still had a constant dull ache in his arm and limited strength. Now that liability for the work-related accident has been proved, he may now wish to pursue a compensation claim for personal injury.