A machinery accident in Manchester has left a man with a seriously damaged hand after it became trapped inside.

The man, who had only worked for the drainage product company for a few weeks, was working on a drill machine making door sills. He was wearing gloves while he was working on the machine but one of them got caught in the mechanics and pulled his hand inside, seriously damaging his hand in the process. His injuries included a fractured little finger and a dislocated middle finger.

HSE Investigation

A Health and Safety Investigation revealed that the drilling machine had an inadequate guard on it. This was also highlighted in an HSE report before the factory accident happened; the report showed that workers were wearing gloves as protection but this presented as gloves can easily get caught in the machinery. Nothing was done by the company following the report.

An HSE inspector spoke at the hearing which took place. She said that there was no need for this accident to have happened. She said: “The employee was lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries, but they could easily have been much worse. Workers at the factory were regularly using the drill without an adequate guard and while wearing gloves so there was a high risk that someone would be injured. She added that risk assessments need to be acted upon and not left to ‘gather dust’.