Cumbria Man Injured In Work Accident
27/08/2010
A man was left in a hip-to-toe cast for a week after a steel cable shot through his leg as he worked, a court has heard.
Jamie Graham, 25, from Cockermouth, also had to use crutches to get around for another four months following the incident at the ACP (Concrete) Ltd factory in Workington, in which a grip holding one of the tensioned cables failed.
Emergency crews had to cut through the cable to free Mr Graham, who was taken to hospital for further treatment with the end still embedded in his shin.
A Health and Safety Executive probe found the company, which produces pre-stressed concrete panels, did not have a suitable system in operation for inspecting the grips, and that an average of eight grips were failing each week at the site on the Derwent Howe Industrial Estate.
The watchdog brought a prosecution over the incident against the firm, which was fined £15,000 at Workington Magistrates' Court.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
David Urpeth, a solicitor from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “I welcome the fine imposed following this serious work accident.
“It is of serious concern that had, on average, eight failures per month which could clearly have caused serious injury or death in an accident at work.
“All too often, I have to assist workers pursue their compensation claim following injuries sustained in a work accident, the circumstances of which could so easily have been avoided.”
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