Sawmill worker’s leg trapped in machine

An Edinburgh firm has been fined £20,000 for safety breaches after a sawmill worker suffered a serious leg injury.

The employee was injured while attempting to unblock a machine known as a drop sorter, which is used to process logs into planks.

A Health & Safety Executive investigation discovered that the man had climbed on to the machine’s conveyor belt and tried to remove two planks of wood. However, the machine had not been turned off and re-started immediately after the jam was removed, dragging the worker’s leg into the machine.

The man was trapped for almost two hours. It was discovered that his leg had been fractured in three places and he had suffered severe nerve damage.

Windymains Timber Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety Regulations.

An HSE inspector described the incident as being totally preventable, adding that had the company carried out a risk assessment of the procedure for unblocking the machine, they would have realised that the machine’s guarding was not adequate.

IBB Solicitors has built a reputation for quality of service in pursuing compensation in cases involving accident, illness or death. If you would like advice on personal injury issues, you can contact a member of IBB’s Personal Injury team, call us on 08456 381 381 or email enquiries@ibblaw.co.uk.