A Cornwall timber firm has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £13,700 costs after an 18-year-old employee lost part of his hand in a panel saw.

Frame Homes (South West) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of The Health & Safety at Work Act after the accident involving Lewis Maker, who had been in the job just five days.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution after the teenager had the top half of one of his hands cut off when it was pulled into the metal blade of the panel saw he was using to cut a piece of board.

HSE investigations revealed he'd been given inadequate training on how to use the saw safely.

An HSE inspector said the accident could have been avoided if the company had provided proper training, and that a new employee had a right to expect far more protection from his employers.

According to the HSE, around two thirds of all accidents involving machinery occur on just three types:

• circular saws
• vertical spindle moulders
• surface planers

Partner and personal injury specialist Philip Baldwin said: "Under the Health & Safety at Work Act, employers have a legal duty of care to every employee.

"The law does not require employers to eliminate risk altogether, but they're expected to identify the risks involved and take proper steps to protect people as far as reasonably practicable, and to provide proper training.

"It's clear from the comments made by the Health & Safety Executive that with the right training this horrific accident could have been avoided."

The Health & Safety Executive provide lots of practical guides for employers on how to reduce the risk of accidents at work, including how to carry out proper risk assessments to identify hazards and to implement changes and training to reduce the risk of injury.

Full details of how to carry out a proper risk assessment and a copy of the Health & Safety Executive's 5 steps to risk assessment can be found here.

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