Unprotected Blade

A theme park worker severely injured his right hand as he was cutting wood using an unguarded rotating saw blade.

Steven Gardiner was working at Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Ayrshire cutting up sheets of plywood on 29 October 2009.

As the saw he normally used was not available for this task due to an operating fault, Mr Gardiner was using a table mounted circular saw that he had never used before. When setting up the saw he saw he noticed that the blade guard was not attached to the riving knife but, as he did not know how to fit this guard he left it to one side.

Mr Gardiner started working with a colleague, but after he left he decided to carry on alone as he only had a few sheets of plywood left to cut. As he pushed a long strip of wood through the blade using both hands to keep it straight, his right hand slipped forward and came into contact with the blade, cutting it badly.

He bound his hand up with his t-shirt and called for help. He was taken to hospital, where he needed a six hour bone graft operation to save his fingers. Doctors used bone from his hip and wire to rebuild his thumb, fingers and tendons. He needed two further operations to have metal plates inserted into his hand and remove scar tissue. He will need further surgery.

Mr Gardiner still cannot bend his thumb and doctors do not know if full movement to his fingers will ever return. He has difficulty tying laces and doing buttons, cannot clench his hand and has had to give up his hobby of DIY. Before the park closed, he was moved from his former post as a maintenance worker to an office based role as he was no longer able to carry out his previous duties as a maintenance worker.

Today at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court Parkware Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and were fined £5,000.

HSE Inspector Eve Macready said:

"This was an entirely avoidable incident which will affect Mr Gardiner for the rest of his life. Not only has he had to change his line of work, but he has also had to give up a hobby and has difficulty performing tasks as simple as tying his shoelaces.

"Mr Gardiner's injuries would not have happened if the blade guard had been fitted. Employers have a duty to make sure machinery made available as work equipment is safe."