Northumberland sawmiller fined £4,000 for worker saw injury
5 March 2014Northumberland sawmiller A&J Scott has been fined £4,000 after a worker’s right hand was severely damaged by an unguarded saw blade.
A hearing at Berwick Magistrates’ Court on March 4 heard that the worker needed partial amputation of his middle and ring fingers following the incident at Station Sawmills in Wooperton, Alnwick on June 28, 2012.
The worker had been using an industrial-size rig saw to cut logs in one of the mills when a section of wood caught on the blade. He left the machine running and tried to clear the jam but his hand came into contact with the moving blade.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that A&J Scott had no safety guards to prevent workers from getting too close to dangerous parts of the machine.
“By failing to introduce simple precautions a worker suffered painful and lasting injuries,” said HSE inspector Andrew Woodhall.
“These types of injury are all too common in the woodworking sector, and the sawmill industry in particular has a major injury rate which is over two-and-a-half times that of general manufacturing.”
A&J Scott was also ordered to pay £8,911 costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
