A frozen food company has been fined £700,000 after a worker lost two hands following an incident at the company’s premises in Lincolnshire.
Tom Matthews, from Grantham, is now advocating for fitness and protection in his current job at another company, warning others about his misfortune.
He was running the night shift at the McCain Foods location in Easton on Sept. 2, 2019, when he suffered a serious injury to his left hand.
While cleaning the company’s percussion system machinery, the 33-year-old had tried to remove the rope hanging from a conduit when his left hand sucked and came into contact with the machine’s rotating valve.
Subsequently, the index finger and hands were amputated as a result of the incident.
Matthews, a father of two, said: “The last 4 years have been complicated and a constant struggle, both physically and mentally.
“I still have flow disorders in my left hand because of the incident that never happened.
“While I’m working lately, my new role is in the company’s fitness and protection team because I need to use my story as an example for others and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. “
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that McCain Foods had not provided adequate cover to protect the harmful parts of the device, namely the rotary valve. You did not perform a good enough risk assessment of the pulp device. and failed to provide workers with sufficient education and supervision on physical fitness and advocacy.
HSE inspector Muir Finlay said: “This incident could have been so easy to avoid if the company had taken concrete steps to protect the damaging parts of the machinery and provide workers with proper education and supervision. “
“Businesses and Americans should be aware that the HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate action to enforce the law against those who do not meet the required standards. “
A spokesperson for McCain responded: “At McCain, we take the health and protection of our colleagues incredibly seriously and have cooperated fully at every stage of this matter.
The lawsuit was led by HSE compliance lawyer Jonathan Bambro and supported by Rubina Abdul-Karim.