When a manual handling accident need not cause a bad back
What happened?
A man was manually lifting a metal frame weighing approximately 250 kilograms to carry out some welding. The frame fell and crushed his fingers. Two fingers were partially amputated later as a result of his injuries.
The HSE’s investigation revealed that the lifting and turning of these frames was not an isolated occurrence and a number of the frames had been made in this manner over the three years that the company has been in existence.
No steps had been taken to avoid the manual handling or to assess the manual handling operation and take steps to reduce the likelihood of injury.
Speaking after the case, the HSE Inspector said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”
Legal Outcome
The engineering company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) (b) of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £884.00 costs.
What can we learn from what happened?
This is a reminder that while the main focus of manually handling is understandably related to potential injuries to the back, the regulations cover the activity of manually handling which can lead to injuries to other parts of the body, in this case fingers.
Source of Information
SHP Online