The incident happened when David Howkins was working on a stacker connected to a web press at The Artisan Press in Beaumont Leys, Leicester.
On 6 March 2012, Howkins was asked to replace a bearing in the automated stacker he was working near. He was unable to loosen both sides with an Allen key so Howkins went around the back of the machine where his head became trapped between moving parts.
Howkins suffered multiple skull fractures and was placed in a medically induced coma on a life-support machine for 16 days. As a result of the accident Howkins, who is still unable to work, had to learn how to walk again and is now deaf in his left ear and has no movement in his left eye.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the gate to the area in which Howkins was injured was neither fixed in place nor interlocked, allowing free access to the moving parts of the stacker, which was also not isolated from its power supply.
The Artisan Press yesterday (12 December) pleaded guilty to a single breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment regulations and was handed a fine of £20,000 by Leicester Magistrates’ Court, the maximum the court can impose, and ordered to pay £5,915 in costs.
Following the hearing, Howkins’ wife, Lisa Howkins, said: “David was in a medically induced coma while in hospital for 16 days. We were told at this point that if he were to get pneumonia, his chances of survival were slim.
“When he first came round he was frightened, confused and extremely tearful, and when he came home, I had to help him with everything.
“We used to go on long walks with our dogs but now he can only really manage much shorter walks. He doesn’t really like to leave the house and he gets very tired.
“David is much improved now, but whenever you try to talk about the accident he gets very emotional. The prospect of returning to work frightens him but he is having counselling and is aiming to return to work one day.”
HSE inspector Richenda Dixon said: “Mr Howkins’ life has been devastated by the horrific injuries he sustained as a result of The Artisan Press failing to effectively prevent access to dangerous moving machinery.
“Incidents where workers are injured, or even killed, by moving machinery are easily avoided if employers provide suitable guarding.
“Effective measures were not taken by The Artisan Press to prevent their workforce from accessing dangerous moving parts, in this case the stacker and sword drive mechanism.
“In addition, safe systems of work, information, instruction and training are required to control the risks during both production and maintenance activities.”
