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Firm fined after worker suffers horrific injuries when arm trapped in machinery

A steel processing firm has been fined £12,000 after a worker suffered horrific injuries when his arm was trapped in a machine.

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Matthew Collins was cleaning rotating rollers at Cooper and Jackson Ltd in Brierley Hill when his arm was pulled between them.

A colleague attempted to free him by reversing the rollers, which steel is fed through, but when he pressed the reverse button Mr Collins was instead dragged in further, up to his shoulder.

The 42-year-old, from Stourbridge, punctured a lung and fractured five ribs as well as his collarbone, shoulder blade and elbow.

He also suffered serious burns to his chest, caused by rollers coming into contact with his skin. He was in hospital for more than a month and was later re-admitted following an infection from his chest injuries.

Mr Collins has been unable to work since and is having counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In addition to the fine, the company must also pay £1,181 in court costs.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident, which happened on March 20, 2014, found the company had not carried out a risk assessment for the cleaning of the machine.

It also found staff had not been trained in how to clean the machine safely.

Magistrates in Dudley were told the company, based on the Pedmore Road Industrial Estate, failed to ensure the safety of its employees.

Paul Cooper, prosecuting on behalf of the HSE, said: "There was a risk assessment for general day to day work at the machine but this assessment failed to consider maintenance activities, specifically it failed to consider the hazards present when cleaning the rollers - and this despite roller cleaning being a regular task undertaken by a number of employees."

Mr Cooper said it was known by some workers at the factory that the machine's reverse button was not working.

"Frantically calling for a colleague to reverse the rollers only served to draw him further into the dangerous machine, and to horribly aggravate his injuries," he said.

The court heard the bosses at Cooper and Jackson had complied fully with the investigation and had since ensured the factory met relevant safety standards.

Andrew Roach, defending, told magistrates: "There is now a safe system in place to ensure no such accident happens again.

"My client accepts the system in place was not what it should have been.

"It is the hope of both the company and Mr Collins that he will be able to return to work. He gives the impression he is making good progress."

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

After the hearing, Mr Cooper said: "This incident was entirely preventable. The risk of cleaning moving rollers should have been obvious but, because the company hadn't addressed the issue and provided staff with an official way of doing things, they were left to their own devices.

"Being allowed to do things their own way resulted in terrible injuries to a young man who is now uncertain about whether he will return to work."

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