Worker loses right arm in accident

A woman's right arm has been severed after becoming trapped in machinery whilst working for F.J Church and Sons Ltd, a metal recycling company in Rainham, Essex.

An investigation by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) followed the incident, which happened on the 12th June 2021. The investigation found that incident occurred after Ms Troia attempted to remove a blockage by reaching through an unguarded rotary valve of a catalytic converter sampling machine.

Ms Troia, the victim was rushed to hospital after the rotary valve closed, trapping and severing her arm. She has been unable to work since.

The HSE found that F.J. Church and Sons failed to prevent workers accessing dangerous parts of the sampling machinery, which resulted in Ms Troia losing her right arm.

Employers must take effective measures to ensure access to hazards are prevented. This can normally achieved by tamper proof guarding and the use of a LOTO (Lock Out Tag Out) system to ensure access is performed when machinery is completely shut down and maintenance in performed by trained professionals.

F.J. Church and Sons Ltd, of Centenary Works, Manor Way, Rainham, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £5,125.37 in costs at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 5 March 2024.

HSE inspector Marcus Pope said: “Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of poorly guarded work equipment. In this case this was a wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure to guard dangerous parts. Had the company added suitable guarding to the outlet of the machine, this life-changing injury would not have occurred.”

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Regularly reviewing machinery and equipment as part of a preventative maintenance and safety regime will help spot hazards and ensure machinery is maintained and guarded. Using an inspection system like TakeAIM will enable management to ensure faults, issues and hazards are rectified and engineers can take action before faults / hazards cause minor injury, serious harm or even death.