Firm fined after workers lost fingers to machinery

A plastic products manufacturer in Leeds has been fined after two workers lost fingers in machinery in separate incidents 10 days apart.

Commercial Lines Ltd, which trades as HLN Supplies, admitted two health and safety breaches and were fined £16,000 at Leeds Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Grandmother-of-eight Angela Morrison had to have part of a finger amputated after she severely damaged it while trying to clear a blockage on a sanding machine in 12 August 2024.

Later the same month a 57-year-old man lost part of his index finger, when his left hand came into contact with the blade of a table saw he was using to cut plastic strips.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted the case, said the firm had "failed to provide adequate guarding" on the sanding machine, meaning dangerous parts were easily accessible.

It also found that table saw training had been "insufficient", and "no safe work systems were in place when cutting small materials".

Morrison, 61, said her life had been made "much more difficult" by the incident.

Doctors needed to remove what was left of her middle finger after it was damaged by the machine, while another of her fingers will also now be amputated, two years after it happened.

"You don't notice it until you go and do something and then you realise you can't," she said.

"Little things like opening the oven or getting out change in my purse.

"When I think about the accident, I just keep thinking 'if only it didn't happen or if I'd done something differently'. I just want to turn the clock back."

HSE inspector Gavin Carruthers said both incidents were "completely avoidable".

"Both workers have been left with injuries that will stay with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

"The fact one of those hurt was a much-loved grandmother who had worked at the company for nearly three decades makes these failings all the more stark."

Besides being fined, the firm, based in Upper Accommodation Road, was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £6,534.85.

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