The Health & Safety Executive (“HSE”) reported recently that an employer had been fined £140,000 after one of their employees lost part of his finger while cutting a pig tail.
The employee, a Ukrainian national, had been asked to remove pigs’ tails using hydraulic cutters. These were not designed for the task and as a result he caught his left index finger in the cutting mechanism and severed it. He required hospital treatment including the removal of more of his finger.
The HSE’s investigation found that by providing equipment that was not suitable for the task the company failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of the employee.
Although the company had internal procedures in place to prevent such accidents, they failed to implement them. In fact, the hydraulic cutters were not meant to be used for the removal of tails as this is something trained butchers were supposed to do using knives.
The investigation also found that despite the company employing a number of migrant workers for whom English may not have been their first language, the training provided for the process of removing pigs’ tails was in English only.
It should be noted that employers have a legal responsibility to provide information, instruction, training and supervision in an understandable format for all workers, irrespective of their national origins, first language, or literacy. Failing to do this greatly affects the quality of training delivered by employers and places its more vulnerable employees at increased risk of injury, which can prove fatal at times.
Also employers should not only provide guidance on carrying out workplace activities but they must ensure that the recommended procedures are being followed too.
How we can help
At Enable Law we have decades of experience supporting employees who have suffered injuries in the workplace understand their legal rights to access compensation and support to help with their recovery and rehabilitation. For many employees a workplace injury like the one referenced here would mean that they would never be able to undertake the same type of work in the future as their injuries would prevent them from doing so. That can leave them without an income source and significantly diminish their quality of life. The purpose of a personal injury claim is to help the injured person and their loved ones by giving them the means to rebuild their lives.
Faqir Nawaz has been specialising in personal injury work for over 24 years and has a special interest in accidents at work. If you, a member of your family or someone you know has been unfortunate enough to sustain injuries as a result of a workplace incident then please do get in touch as Faqir or another member of our expert legal team will be happy to advise you further.. You can call us for free on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form for us to give you a call back at a time convenient for you. All initial discussions are free of charge and completely confidential. Your employer will not be notified that you are seeking legal advice unless you decide to go ahead with making a claim.
