Flirgan Elf

Camas UK recently paid a compensation of £6,000 in an out-of-court settlement with an employee whose thumb was broken in two places due to an accident caused by the negligence of the company and a lack of communication on its part.

The standard practice at the company regarding machinery face plates was that of putting glue on the entire circumference of the pad, which meant that full force was needed to crowbar the pads off. This practice was changed, and thereafter only the top and the bottom were covered with glue. As a result, the pads were less firmly attached to the machinery.

Mr. Anthony Lacey, an engineer at the firm, was not informed of this when he was asked to change the face plates of the machinery. Consequently, he was not expecting the magnet to come off when he applied full force in order to crowbar the pad. The magnet was dislodged and fell on his thumb, thereby causing the injury.

Andy Worth, a representative of the GMB union , of which Mr. Lacey is a member, and Laura Hadfield, employee of Thompsons Solicitors offered some opinions about the accident.

According to Andy Worth, Mr. Lacey should have been informed about the new method and the accident would not have occurred if a proper system of communication had been in place.

To add to that, Laura Hadfield said that there is a duty of care to provide a safe working environment to the employees, including a duty to ensure intimation of new working procedures to the employees. In this case, serious harm was caused to the employee due to a simple lapse in communication, which was easily avoidable.

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