Personal injury news

Factory worker loses three fingers in work accident

A napkin manufacturer has been fined £30,000 after an employee suffered severe injuries in an accident at work which resulted in her losing three fingers.

The incident took place in January 2009 when the 43-year-old woman had been working at a factory located in Merseyside.

She had been attempting to clean two large printer rollers, which were still in operation, when the cloth she had been using got caught in the machinery. As she tried to free the cloth her hand was pulled into the rollers and she suffered severe personal injuries.

The work accident left the woman with three severed fingers on her right hand. The digits later had to be amputated.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that the safety guard, designed to fit between the rollers, was not being used at the time of the accident and that the correct cleaning procedure was rarely followed in the factory.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the manufacturing company plead guilty to breaking health and safety regulations and fined them £30,000.

It has not been reported whether the personal injury victim will be pursuing an accident at work compensation claim through the civil courts.