December 14, 2022 4.30 pm This story is over 21 months old

Firm fined after man loses scalp and ear in work incident

Scunthorpe company pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach
Caspian Group Limited were fined £70,000 after an employee lost his scalp and an ear to a machine incident. | Photo: HSE
By Local Democracy Reporter

A Scunthorpe company has been fined £70,000 after an employee’s scalp and ear were ripped off by a machine he got his ponytail trapped inside.

On October 25, 2018, a man was working for Caspian Group Limited when he went to work at an oil machine at the firm’s site on East Common Lane in Scunthorpe.

His hair was tied back in a ponytail, but became trapped in the machine’s rotating shaft – resulting in his scalp being torn from the back of his head.

Other injuries included one of his ears being ripped off, and his face being torn, as well as needing the tip of his left index finger amputated.

He was hospitalised for two weeks by the incident, requiring skin grafts during his treatment.

The machine was acquired and installed by Caspian second-hand, less than a year before the incident. | Photo: HSE

An investigation was launched by the Health and Safety Executive following the incident, and it was found that the MPC Micromatic Timber tree grading machine had been bought second-hand and installed at Caspian around December 2017.

The machine was found to have obvious risks, which included workers being drawn in and crushed, of which the company were aware of but failed to adequately control.

The HSE suggested that instead of installing suitable guards to prevent access to the machine, the company relied on employees following a system of work which did not mitigate the risks they were exposed to.

These risks included workers being routinely required to gain access to dangerous parts of the machine, such as rotating power bars and helical rollers.

| Photo: HSE

Caspian Group Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The firm was fined £70,000 and ordered to pay £13,012.76 in costs at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on November 22, 2022.

HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans commented: “Serious accidents occur each year due to companies not identifying and managing the risks posed by machinery. The dangers of unguarded machinery are well known.

“If Caspian Group Limited had properly assessed the risks and then installed suitable guards the incident would not have happened.”

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