Cheshire firm prosecuted over work injury
Personal Injury 01 Apr 2011
A manufacturer of motor components has been prosecuted after a
work accident in which one of its staff was injured.
Chester Crown Court fined Mitras Automotive (UK) Ltd £20,000 and instructed the firm to pay prosecution costs of £8,792.
The charges related to a
work injury suffered by an employee on May 21st 2008 at the firm's Winsford Industrial Estate factory.
On this day, three employees, including one named Andrew Burrell were carrying out a night shift. Mr Burrell's left leg was injured when a crane's hook fell on it.
The firm admitted that it had not made sure that the chains' lifting capacity was clearly marked. It also confessed that its workers safety was not ensured.
Martin Paren, the investigating inspector at the Health and Safety executive (HSE), issued some
accident advice, saying: "Lifting capacities exist for a reason and it’s vital that manufacturers who use overhead cranes make sure employees aren’t put a risk from falling loads."
In 2009/10 alone the HSE prosecuted 89 offences in north-west England, while local councils prosecuted 36.
Published by Hannah Carr
