Mushroom firm fined £14k after worker is crushed

The firm was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the incident left the worker with a fracture to his left forearm and another to his upper arm, as well as bruising on the left hand side of his chest and back.

The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, was unable to return to work for over a year.

He was clearing compost out of growing tunnels after the harvest of a crop of mushrooms when the incident happened on January 25 2013.

Cambridge Magistrates’ Court was told yesterday (July 24) that the worker from Thetford, Norfolk, who was 31 at the time, was rolling a net and polythene sheet – which lined the growing shelves – onto a specially-designed emptying machine, when the sheet dropped away.

Became caught ​

He attempted to tuck it back into the machine without stopping it but his left gloved hand became caught into the winding mechanism.

The machine continued to wind the net and sheet onto its roller, pulling the worker’s arm with it up to his shoulder. On hearing him shout, another employee ran to the machine and stopped it. He then used the reverse button to free the worker’s arm, which by then was crushed in several places.

HSE found that the firm had failed to identify that the machine’s roller was unguarded when they purchased it, and had failed to guard the dangerous part of the machine.

After the incident, the company fully enclosed the rotating part of the machine with fixed guarding fitted with a key exchange system. The firm pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

HSE inspector, Roxanne Barker, said the risks associated with unguarded winches or rollers were well-known in many industries, including agriculture.  

‘Life-changing injuries’ ​

“Incidents involving this type of machinery can cause serious, life-changing injuries, which is why onus is on employers to ensure that appropriate guards are in place to protect workers from dangerous moving parts,”​ she added.

“In this case, the worker needlessly suffered terrible injuries because, although the machine was CE marked, Littleport Mushroom Farm failed to comply with their duty to make sure that the machinery met the essential guarding requirements.​

There are several deaths and many more injuries each year due to incidents where workers have been using unguarded or poorly guarded machines, and most of these are easily prevented, Barker claimed.

“Companies have a legal duty to ensure dangerous parts are effectively guarded before a machine is used, whether or not these are provided by the manufacturer,” ​she added.

HSE is working with the manufacturers of this type of machine to improve guarding standards.