Engineering Firm Fined £500,000 After Apprentice Suffers Finger Amputation

An engineering firm has received a £500,000 fine following an incident where a teenage apprentice severed his finger with a bandsaw, according to the safety regulator. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that the apprentice, aged 18 at the time, was approximately one month into his placement at Proline Engineering Limited in Worsley, Greater Manchester, when the event occurred in November 2022. The HSE stated that he completely severed one finger and “severely damaged” another which, despite being reattached, continues to suffer from “very little movement” and nerve damage. Proline Engineering Limited was issued a £500,000 fine by Manchester Magistrates’ Court earlier this month, and was also ordered to pay an additional £5,317 in costs. The company had previously admitted guilt to violating Section 3 and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The HSE’s investigation into the incident determined that the apprentice had been allowed to use a horizontal bandsaw to cut steel lengths for welding practice following “a brief period of verbal training.” The regulator discovered that the saw was situated in a shipping container “some distance away from the main workshop” and that the apprentice was working unsupervised when the incident occurred. The HSE reported that while he was attempting to clear debris from beneath the saw, the moving blade “instantly severed” one of his fingers and “severely damaged” another, leading to a six-day hospital stay. HSE inspector Tracy Fox stated: “This young man was at the very start of his career. He sustained serious and irreversible injuries that have been truly life changing. Had even the most basic safeguards been put in place, this incident would have been avoided.”