Personal injury news

Work accident claim made by injured Kurdish man

A bread-making company has admitted negligence in court after a Kurdish employee lost all the fingers on his left hand in a work related accident.

Prosecutors representing Bakhtiar Khader Ismael for the accident at work, claim that he had not been given the correct training for operating food machinery at Honeytop Foodstuffs.

Mr Ismael was cleaning a flour processing machine at the Woodside Industrial Estate on 14th December 2004 when he suffered a severe hand injury from the work accident

The Iraqi Kurd hadn't been told that a tube had been removed from the machine when repairs were carried out earlier that day and wasn't aware that the power was still switched on.

Robin Cooper, prosecuting, said, "His left hand entered the gap left by the removal of the urethane tube, came into contact with the auger which amputated all his fingers on his left hand and part of the hand itself."

Mr Ismael was rushed to Luton and Dunstable Hospital with a serious personal injury from the work accident. A later inspection found that he and two other operators did not understand the safety system at Honeytop.

According to Mr Cooper, the 22-year-old Kurdish worker, who spoke very little English, had not received an induction to his job and relied heavily on instructions from fellow employees.

Mr Morton, defending the bread making company, said that employees can now be trained in their first language to make sure a similar work accident doesn't happen.

Honeytop pleaded guilty at Luton Magistrates' Court to the accident at work claim and the case has been referred to the crown court for sentencing.