A luxury yacht manufacturer has been fined after a worker suffered serious crushing injuries to his right hand during a lifting operation.
On 3 December 2018 an employee suffered crushing injuries to his right hand during the lifting of a storage cage at the yachts manufacturing facility. The route of the accident was that an overhead crane was used as there was no goods lift in the manufacturing unit. As the cage was lifted using the incorrect machinery it began to tip and fall in the direction of the employee. His hand became trapped between the cage and a boat trolley resulting in serious crush injuries to the victims dominant right hand.
After conducting an investigation into the incident the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the lifting operation had not been properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised or carried out in a safe and sensible manner.
The company was fined £230,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,410 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
HSE Inspector Aaron Butel said: “When undertaking lifting operations involving lifting equipment companies should ensure that they are always properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
