Cork sawmill admits two health and safety breaches after worker has thumb cut off
Guilty pleas were entered on behalf of GP Wood Ltd of Main Street, Enniskeane, County Cork, to charges under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
A 24-year-old sawmills worker had his right thumb completely cut off in a workplace accident and his employers pleaded guilty to two health and safety breaches on Friday.
Guilty pleas were entered on behalf of GP Wood Ltd of Main Street, Enniskeane, County Cork, to charges under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. The accident happened on March 3 this year where Paul O’Mahony suffered the injury.
Judge James McCourt said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “One would hope that with help from appropriately qualified people that he can in fact resume his pre-accident activities, in particular his sporting activities.
He should walk among his community with his head held high. He did nothing wrong—no one suggests he did anything wrong. Paul O’Mahony has my sympathies for the injury that befell him when he was simply going about his business.
“The company has accepted responsibility and met the case in a fair and responsible manner… taking steps to improve safety on the machine in question—that is acknowledged by Mr Barry, the safety expert.”
Tom Creed defence senior counsel said:
Judge McCourt said it was likely that such a resumption—if he is able to do so—would assist the injured party in every aspect of his life.
The judge said that GP Wood Ltd had done everything one could reasonably expect in response to this accident.
Judge McCourt suggested that civil proceedings would deal with an amount which would reflect injuries and that any fines imposed at the criminal court did not reflect on the degree of the injury, whether the fine was €1 or €1 million.
In the event the judge assessed fines totalling €5,000 plus costs against the defendant company agreed at €2,500.
Both counts related to an incident at the sawmill premises on March 3 this year at their premises. The first referred to a failure to provide information, instruction, training and supervision in respect of a Leadermac moulding machine at the premises that was necessary to ensure the safety of employees, in particular in relation to the freeing of blockages from the machine.
The second related to a charge referred to a failure to manage and conduct work activities to ensure the safety of employees, and in particular the failure to implement risk assessments concerning the locking out and isolating of machinery, as a consequence of which, employee Paul O’Mahony suffered injuries.
Health and Safety Authority inspector David Barry said the machine was designed to cut wood on four sides so that it could shape a single piece of wood in one single operation. It has a safety hood to prevent access when the saws are operating. “Ordinarily, if you open the hood it will turn off,” he said.
However, he said there was a further function that enabled someone observing the operation of the machine to do so with the hood up—a setting that should not be available unless a member of staff has particular training. He said the blades spin so fast that they appear as a blur. “You would not even see it,” he added.
Judge McCourt summarised: “The machine was in a mode for which the employee was not trained. It should only have been observed in that mode and there should have been no intervention and the injured party intervened. He was not trained in that and the company pleaded guilty.
"The company was in breach of statute under any number of headings. No blame can attach to the unfortunate Mr O’Mahony.”
Judge McCourt was told of a 2019 incident where a man was struck by a vehicle and killed, and the company prosecuted under health and safety legislation, but he said that incident was unrelated in the sense that it did not arise out of the operation of saws or related machinery.
