Thorntons fined after accident at workRSS Feed

Chocolate chain Thorntons was fined after a worker broke her finger in an accident at work.

Ellen Yardley, 37, was working on a foil wrapping machine at the firm's plan in Somercotes, Derbyshire, where chocolates were wrapped in foil and dispensed down a chute.

The machine was still running during a break in production, when Ms Yardley attempted to clean the caramel from the inside of the output chute.

However, the cloth she was using became tangled in the rotating parts of the machine, and her right hand was dragged inside, fracturing and cutting her middle finger.

As a result of the accident, Ms Yardley was off work for ten weeks.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that while the machine had guarding installed, it was inadequate, and there were a number of other machines in the factory that needed updates.

HSE inspector Stuart Parry said: "Thorntons should never have allowed the machinery guarding to fall below the legal safety standards. It was effectively asking its employees to work on machines that put them at risk of injury."

Accident claims advice from Serious Law

Posted by T B Walters

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