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05/12/2012
Companies Fined After Worker Loses Arm
Two companies have been fined a total of £32,500 after a worker lost his arm in a mixer.
The hire company and builder's firm were ordered to pay the sum after Thomas McAreavey, 29, got his arm ripped off while working outside a Belfast primary school when his coat got caught in a mixing paddle.
The total amounted to a fine of £12,000 for JB Plant Hire, while Scott Ferguson Building Company were fined £20,000 at Belfast Crown Court.
Both firms pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches.
Mr McAreavey was working alongside his father when the accident happened on 11 October 2010.
He was rushed to hospital, but despite receiving medical attention surgeons were unable to reattach his left arm.
The court heard JB Plant hire had advertised the machine as suitable for use with rubberised compounds.
The health and safety issue arose when workers found the compound would only come out if the guard was lifted.
JB Plant Hire, of Mullaghmore Road in Dungannon, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching health and safety regulations.
Scott Ferguson Building Company, from the Kilwee Business Park in Upper Dunmurry Lane, Belfast, pleaded guilty to four offences.
The fines were mitigated by early guilty pleas and unblemished safety records.
Judge Gordon Kerr QC said it would have been commonly known that operating such a mixer without a guard was dangerous.
(IT)
The hire company and builder's firm were ordered to pay the sum after Thomas McAreavey, 29, got his arm ripped off while working outside a Belfast primary school when his coat got caught in a mixing paddle.
The total amounted to a fine of £12,000 for JB Plant Hire, while Scott Ferguson Building Company were fined £20,000 at Belfast Crown Court.
Both firms pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches.
Mr McAreavey was working alongside his father when the accident happened on 11 October 2010.
He was rushed to hospital, but despite receiving medical attention surgeons were unable to reattach his left arm.
The court heard JB Plant hire had advertised the machine as suitable for use with rubberised compounds.
The health and safety issue arose when workers found the compound would only come out if the guard was lifted.
JB Plant Hire, of Mullaghmore Road in Dungannon, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching health and safety regulations.
Scott Ferguson Building Company, from the Kilwee Business Park in Upper Dunmurry Lane, Belfast, pleaded guilty to four offences.
The fines were mitigated by early guilty pleas and unblemished safety records.
Judge Gordon Kerr QC said it would have been commonly known that operating such a mixer without a guard was dangerous.
(IT)
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