MJB Excavations fined after worker injured
Aggregates company fined £33,350 after a worker trapped and injured in poorly guarded screener
HALIFAX-based MJB Excavations & Plant Hire Ltd have been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker suffered crush injuries to his arm and chest.
Leeds Magistrates court heard how, on 18 March 2015, 22-year-old Josh Mathieson was operating an Extec 5000 three-way split screening machine at North Dean Business Park, in Halifax, West Yorkshire, when his arm became trapped between a moving conveyor belt and a roller.
Mr Mathieson, who had to be cut free from the machine, sustained a punctured lung, three broken ribs, a fracture to the top half of his right arm and nerve damage.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was a lack of guarding on the machine.
MJB Excavations & Plant Hire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £33,350.00 and ordered to pay £950 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Sarah Lee commented: ‘This injury was easily preventable and the risk from the unguarded machine should have been identified.
‘Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimize the risk from dangerous parts of machinery.’
