Bolton Crown Court heard how the employees were caught up in machinery in two separate incidents during 2020.
The first incident on 8 January 2020 saw one man’s arm drawn into an inadequately guarded conveyor belt at the Lancaster Way factory, which resulted in the removal of muscle and required a skin graft.
Finger slice
Just nine months later, a second employee – Andrew Holloway – had part of his middle figure severed after his hand was drawn between a roller and a conveyor belt on 14 October 2020.
The acting team leader had been told of an issue on the production line and gone to investigate when the incident happened. Holloway required two operations on his hand – the second saw doctors remove more of his middle finger after the tissue failed to heal properly.
Holloway returned to work after a six-month absence but left after a couple of days. The man involved in the first incident has not returned to work and has been diagnosed with hypersensitivity in the affected arm.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company did not adequately guard their machinery, did not provide suitable and sufficient checks to ensure that their protective measures were working effectively, and allowed the disabling of guarding systems and access to dangerous parts of machinery.
Court ruling
Stateside Foods Ltd of Lancaster Way, Westhoughton, Bolton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and 3 (1), of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The company was fined £800,000 and was ordered to pay £5,340 costs at a hearing on 15 March 2024 at Bolton Crown Court.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Leanne Ratcliffe said: “This case should send a message to industry about how important it is understanding the risks of bypassing guarding arrangements, and to re-evaluate their own guarding arrangements and procedures to eliminate any access to dangerous parts of machinery.
“We will always be prepared to take action when companies fall short of their duties and responsibilities to protect their staff.”
Meanwhile, last month, a fruit and vegetable supply business has been fined £320,000 after a man was killed at its site in West Lancashire.
