Viridor Enviroscot, an Edinburgh based company has been fined £165,000 when a worker was left blind in one following an accident in the workplace.
The worker was struck in the eye by high tensile wire when working at the companys’ materials recycling facility in 2012 leaving him permanently blind. Declan Shipcott was using wire cutters when he was struck in the face when trying to clear a blockage on one of the machines. He had no eye protection on at the time with the company failing to provide adequate safety equipment.
Not Proper Equipment
Mr Shipcott was taken to the hospital following the injury and underwent emergency surgery.
Viridor Enviroscot Ltd were fined £165,000 for not providing proper safety equipment or following health safety procedures and plead guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE inspector Aileen Jardine said: "This incident could have easily been avoided if Viridor Enviroscot Ltd had carried out a risk assessment for the task, which would have identified the safety measures required to reduce any risks.
"The simple act of donning eye protection before working with high tensile wire may well have prevented this incident taking place. Instead, his employer’s failings led to an incident which has had real life changing consequences for this young man."
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