A WORKMAN had three toes amputated after his foot was crushed beneath a 300kg press die as he moved it from the bed of the press he was working on, a court has heard.

The 25-year-old, of North Ormesby, was moving the equipment at S M Thompson Limited, Middlesbrough, when the incident happened on March 17.

The die slipped from a hoist crushing the toes on his left foot, resulting in him having his big toe amputated and the partial amputation of his second and middle toes. He was in hospital for seven days followed by physiotherapy, but has since returned to work.

Teesside Magistrates’ Court was told today (Tuesday, December 2) that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that S M Thompson had allowed a dangerous practice to evolve over ten years. Three workers were identified as using the same, or similar, lifting method, placing themselves in a drop hazard zone should the load fall.

HSE also found that no risk assessment or proper lift planning had been carried out by the company and, although there were alternatives, including the use of a loading table and straps, these were not introduced until after the incident.

S M Thompson Limited, of Marathon Works, Newport Bridge, Middlesbrough, was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £1,120 costs and £750 Victim Surcharge after pleading guilty to breaching Health and Safety at Work legislation.

After the case, HSE inspector Paul Wilson said: “This worker’s injuries should not and need not have happened. This was a simple and routine work activity, but it had not been properly planned or managed, and as a result, a system of work evolved that was far from safe."