Firm to pay £7,000 after West Bromwich glass worker lost finger
A West Bromwich glass firm has been made to pay £7,000 after a worker's finger got crushed in machinery and had to be amputated.
Asif Hussain was helping a colleague free a large piece of glass when the accident happened at Bloomsbury Glass Ltd's factory in Kelvin Way.
The 32-year-old's ring finger was so badly crushed it had to be amputated. He has been unable to return to work and still suffers pain and swelling in his right hand.
Sandwell Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Mr Hussain, of Sparkbrook, was able to enter the confines of the machine through a gap in the perimeter fencing.
As he discussed how best to remove the glass with his colleague, his glove became entangled in the rotating drive shaft and his right hand was pulled in.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the machine had not been properly guarded after Bloomsbury Glass relocated to the Kelvin Way site. One of the firm's maintenance engineers modified and installed the guard panels but left a gap.
Bloomsbury Glass Ltd, registered at Quadrant Court, in Calthorpe Road, Edgbaston, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £4,928 costs.
Bloomsbury Glass Ltd manager Dave Rama said: "The worker should not have been there in the first place.
"The machine is now guarded, and I am confident it will not happen again."
