Kent plasterboard company 'ignored basic safety rules'
Construction
20th November 2008
An incident in which a plasterboard firm worker suffered long-term hand injuries could have been avoided if the company had carried out a proper health and safety risk assessment, it has been said.
Commenting on the case of Knauf UK GMBH, reported on building.co.uk, Health and Safety Executive inspector Jan Combs said that the firm had "ignored basic health and safety rules".
A worker trapped his finger in December 2007 when he and others were cleaning the rollers on a production machine.
He now has difficulty carrying out basic daily tasks.
Knauf, which is based in Kent, was fined £4,000 with £3,204 costs after pleading guilty to breaching regulations regarding work equipment and work health and safety regulations.
In another case that may interest those with liability insurance, Surrey-based Scotts Company received an £80,000 fine and was order to pay almost £20,000 costs after the death of a worker who was trapped in a bailing machine after entering when the gate lock was broken.
Judge Graham Robinson of Sheffield Crown Court criticised the firm for simply tying the gate shut and hanging a handwritten warning on it. 
