LTI: Hand injury in galley
- Safety Flash
- Published on 4 April 2023
- Generated on 20 December 2025
- IMCA SF 09/23
- 1 minute read
An experienced cook in the galley badly injured his hand when his knife slipped.
What happened?
The incident occurred in a vessel alongside at Christmas. The cook was preparing meat when his knife slipped and jabbed the top left part of the palm of his left hand, causing a serious laceration.
As a consequence the cook needed surgery to repair three damaged nerves.
What went wrong?
- The cook used no PPE – butcher’s gloves.
- The meat was not at the ideal temperature for cutting with minimum force.
- Cutting was done by both pushing and pulling of the blade.
- The risk of the knife slipping was neither assessed nor mitigated.
Lessons learned
- Cut away from the hands or the body.
- Use appropriate PPE in the galley.
- Did the injured person feel pressure to carry on ? A person working alone also has “Stop work authority“.
- Experience is not necessarily a fail-proof barrier or mitigation against risk.
Related Safety Flashes
-
IMCA SF 11/14
8 July 2014
-
IMCA SF 05/13
4 April 2013
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