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A Midlands company has been fined £300,000 after a worker was crushed by a 1.5-tonne hydraulic arm. The staff member, a man aged in his early 40s, was working beneath the arm when it failed and caused him life-changing injuries. He had been working for Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, in Bridgnorth , Shropshire, when the incident unfolded on May 10, 2023. READ MORE: Five arrests over 'immigration and theft' offences during road safety operation Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp , click the link to join While kneeling inside a casting mould, a hydraulic launder arm suddenly fell onto him from above. It crushed the man, who was wearing heat-resistant clothing, and narrowly missed a colleague. It's believed the exterior temperature of the launder arm was around 100C. The man was trapped for three minutes before the floor of the mould was lowered, realising the pressure on him. However, it was a further 19 minutes before the hydraulic arm could be lifted to allow recovery. The incident and the injuries that the man sustained has caused a dramatic impact on his daily life and he's not been able to return to work since then. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the arm fell as a result of hydraulic failure. While there was a safety bar intended to prevent the arm from falling, it was not fit for purpose. Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, which manufactures rolled aluminium products, hadn't assessed the risk posed from the hydraulic arm falling. As a result, the firm had failed to implement a suitable safe system of work to prevent employees from working beneath it. The law requires employers to assess the risks to which their employees are exposed at work. This includes ensuring that work equipment is fit for purpose and adequately maintained. Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited, based on Stourbridge Road, Bridgnorth, pleaded guilty breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £8,301 in costs at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on October 13. HSE inspector Nicola Willcox said: "This was a serious incident that should never have happened. "The company subsequently implemented simple control measures to prevent it from re-occurring. "The process of placing the ceramic string in the moulds is now carried out with the hydraulic arm in the lowered position, and people are restricted from walking under the it when it is raised. "If these measures had been in place at the time, then this incident would not have happened."
