Worker suffers hand injury

  • Safety Flash
  • Published on 13 July 2017
  • Generated on 15 June 2025
  • IMCA SF 17/17
  • 1 minute read

The UK Health & Safety Executive (UK HSE) reports that a company was fined after a worker suffered a serious hand injury after a machinery incident. 

What happened?

The incident occurred when the man's hand became entangled with the rotating workpiece of a manually operated metalwork lathe. The resulting injury later requiring surgical amputation to part of his left index finger.

What went wrong? What were the causes?

An investigation by the UK HSE found that:

  • The machine operators were using an unsafe system of work.

  • The company failed to identify if workers were routinely using this dangerous work practice.

  • The lathe used by the injured person had a faulty emergency footbrake – and this had been reported to the company earlier, but the lathe had not been taken out of service.

What lessons were learnt?

  • The company failed to identify that employees were routinely carrying out an unsafe work practice when hand applying emery cloth to a workpiece rotating at speed.

  • The company had failed to take the faulty lathe out of service.

Latest Safety Flashes:

LTI: Back injury in Confined Space (Tank Entry)

A worker sustained a back injury while transiting through a lightening hole within a confined space.

Read more
Injury to thumb during lifting operations

Whilst attempting to land a piece of equipment onto a flatbed trailer, a crew person suffered a thumb injury.

Read more
MAIB: LTI – fingers lost during mooring operations

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published Safety Digest 1/2025.

Read more
Hand injuries dealing with sharp objects

A member reports two separate incidents relating to sharp objects.

Read more
BSEE: Failure to identify and restrict access to faulty gratings

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the United States (BSEE) has published Safety Alert 496.

Read more

IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of the entire offshore industry.

The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on the industry sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Incidents are classified according to IOGP's Life Saving Rules.

All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate, and warnings for graphic content included where possible.

IMCA makes every effort to ensure both the accuracy and reliability of the information shared, but is not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained.

The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual's or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.

Share your safety incidents with IMCA online. Sign-up to receive Safety Flashes straight to your email.