The worker was injured in October 2003 while moving a 1100 litre Euro Bin made by Egbert H Taylor & Co – despite the bin meeting all European safety standards. HSE health and safety inspector Kerry Williams said: “A gust of wind caught the top of the lid and brought it down on to the bin man's hand and cleanly cut of the top of his thumb.”
Freak
Ms Williams said it was a “freak accident” that could not have been expected, especially because the man was wearing gloves and did not have his hand near the hinge. Although the bin was made of metal, the lid was plastic.
 A Taylor bin on the Knightsbridge street where the accident happened |
Ms Williams added: “People should be aware of it and take it into account when doing risk assessments.” The HSE will not lobby for a change to the European standard unless more cases come to light.
The accident happened in the Knightsbridge area of central London, which comes under Onyx's Westminster contract.
An Onyx spokesperson said: “Last year one of our employees was involved in an accident while moving a 1100 litre Euro Bin. As a result of the accident the employee regrettably lost the top of his thumb.”
Isolated
“This was an isolated incident and the Health and Safety Executive concluded that the severity of the injury sustained by our employee was not foreseeable and there does not appear to be any similar accident history concerning these bins.”
Adair Taylor, technical director of Taylor, said he could not comment until he had completed an investigation of the accident. He added: “In the light of our investigation, if necessary, we will issue new operating instructions.”
Onyx is currently retraining all its operatives in handling techniques as a result of the accident, including a reminder wheeled bins should only be moved using proper handles. The injured man is now on paid sick leave and receiving physiotherapy.
Subscribe for free