Welding Accident Injures Womans Finger British Employer Prosecuted

A global car components manufacturer has been fined after a Staffordshire, Great Britain, woman fractured and burned her left middle finger while operating a welding machine.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that it prosecuted ThyssenKrupp Tallent, Ltd., following the incident at the company’s factory at Quadrant Point, Cannock, in August of 2010.(WCxKit)

The 43-year-old agency worker from Burntwood, who did not want to be named, was using the machine to weld nuts onto car parts when her left hand middle finger became trapped between the electrode and another part of the machine.

South Walls Magistrates’ Court heard the woman fractured her finger and suffered a severe electrical burn, which has left her with continuing numbness. She was unable to return to work for four months and was in a great deal of pain during her recovery, needing help with day-to-day tasks including washing, dressing, and preparing food.

An HSE investigation found the machine had no jig fitted to hold the work piece in place and was set to single-hand operation control. Workers had to hold the work piece in place with their left hand, while using their right hand to press the control button to operate the machine. This meant the left hand was very close to the unguarded moving parts and could become caught.

ThyssenKrupp Tallent, Ltd, of Aycliffe Trading Estate, Darlington, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) (a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £16,000 ($25,500) and ordered to pay £5972 ($9500) in costs.(WCxKit)

The court also heard the company had been fined as a result of a prosecution by HSE in 2009, following a previous incident relating to machinery guarding at the Cannock site.