Pork factory fined after electrician burned

Prosecutions and Claims |
10.04.2008

A factory has been fined £8000 after an employee suffered flash burns while delivering training to other workers.

John Ellingworth, an electrician working for Grampian County Pork at Malton Bacon Factory in North Yorkshire, suffered injuries to his face and hands in the incident in August 2006 and was off work for four months.

Scarborough magistrates heard that Ellingworth had agreed to give a demonstration to non-electrical technicians, who were being trained to carry out maintenance checks. The technicians would then receive specialist training.

As Ellingworth tried to change a fuse, there was a short circuit and he received burns to his face and hands. Another worker, Stephen Jacques, suffered minor burns.

John Micklethwaite, prosecuting for the HSE, told the court the arrangement seemed to have been set up "in the spur of the moment" and that no risk assessment had been carried out.

In mitigation, Richard Clarke said that improvement work already underway at the time of the accident had since been speeded up.

He added that the incident was "an example of poor electrical engineering practices in isolation procedures".

Grampian admitted health and safety breaches and was fined £8000 with £3339 costs.