A man has been left paralysed from the chest down after being crushed by two tonnes of paper.
Christopher John Shaw, who had been working as an assistant winder at SCA Hygiene Products in North Wales, was crushed when he slipped when using his body to slow down a moving paper reel. The reel then rolled onto him causing him serious crush injuries.
The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the firm after the accident and Mold Crown Court heard that the danger, which occurred when the reels were moved by workers using their shoulders at the end of the production line, had been brought to the attention of the firm’s management as a health and safety concern, but no action had been taken.
SCA Hygiene Products pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety procedures and was fined £120,000. At court Richard Matthews, counsel for the company, said: “The company recognises the appalling injuries, the life changing injuries to this man, which are the worst aspect of this, and nothing I can say in terms of expressing genuine regret to everyone, can change anything. But that regret is felt throughout the company.”
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-11913736