An agricultural contractor has been fined €65,000 for health and safety offences arising from an unguarded farm machinery incident, according to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
The incident involved a dairy farmer, who sustained a life-changing injury in late June 2021 during an incident with an unguarded fertiliser trailer that was attached to a spreader.
The farmer had his right hand substantially amputated in a fertiliser spreader that was brought to his farm, according to the HSA.
The fertiliser trailer was purchased complete with the CanAgro auger system.
When supplied, the CanAgro auger was fitted with a guard, to prevent contact with moving parts.
However, the HSA reported that in October 2020, the contractor removed this guard for operational reasons. The removal of this guard then led to this serious machinery incident.
The agricultural contractor pleaded guilty on Thursday, April 25 to both Section 12 contrary to Section 77 (9) (a), and Section 12 contrary to section 77 (2) (a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (SHWW) Act 2005, resulting in the subsequent fine.
The act clarifies the responsibilities of employer‘s, the self-employed, employees and various other parties in relation to safety and health at work.
Senior agriculture inspector with the HSA, Pat Griffin said: “This preventable injury is a reminder that there are potentially serious risks when operating or working with farm machinery.
“Risk assessments must be carried out by the duty holder and all preventative measures put in place to ensure any operator or person working with machines will not be placed at risk of injury.
“In this case we saw a farmer has suffered a life changing injury that could have been easily prevented.”