Engineering company fined, USA News (Brackley): An engineering company has been fined £20,000 after a man suffered a finger amputation. Thomas Davies, 21, is set to receive £15,000 in compensation after he reached into an inadequately guarded automatic saw.
The worker reached into a machine at Dlinexsign Ltd, a signage company based in Brackley, to retrieve a cut piece of material. As he went to grab the material, his hand came into contact with a moving saw blade, and he lost part of his finger. Mr Davies reached into the machine and accessed the dangerous moving parts while it was running.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to take effective measures to prevent access to the machine’s dangerous parts. An inspector for the organisation said the incident could have been stopped. HSE Inspector Dulanjala Kandana-Arachchige stated that the incident demonstrates serious consequences when access to dangerous parts of machinery is not effectively prevented, noting that employers must ensure equipment is properly guarded.
Dlinexsign Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £15,000 in compensation to Mr Davies at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on October 23, 2026. It will also pay £9,9,064.34 in prosecution costs. The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Tom Ledden-Rocks and paralegal officer Natalie Ellis.
