Rotherham based metal fabrication company pleaded guilty to serious failings.

A Rotherham based metal fabrication company has been sentenced after pleading guilty to serious health and safety failings following an incident in which a 17 year old apprentice was injured by a metal cutting guillotine during training.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to properly identify and control significant risks associated with the machinery. Inspectors discovered a large gap in the bed of the guillotine, which allowed access to dangerous moving parts, creating an entirely avoidable risk of injury. With proper guarding in place the accident and the subsequent injury would have been avoided.

The guillotine was located within a dedicated apprentice training workshop, where first year apprentices learn and practise metal fabrication techniques before moving into the company’s main manufacturing areas in the second and third year of training. The young apprentice had made several successful cuts but then on the final attempt the apprentice’s thumb caught the machine’s clamps, causing a crushing injury.

Failings of this nature are not minor oversights, they are breaches of fundamental health and safety duties designed to prevent life changing injuries.

Steve Evans, partner at WE Solicitors comments: “This is exactly the kind of preventable incident that should never be happening. A young apprentice should be learning a trade in a safe environment and not being exposed to dangerous, unguarded equipment. The fact that risks were not properly identified and not corrected following a serious incident is very concerning indeed. Accidents like this can have life changing consequences for young workers who are only just beginning their careers.”

WE Solicitors have extensive experience supporting individuals affected by work place accidents, including crushing injuries.