Workplace Report June 2004

Health & safety news

ISTC wins damages

A Doncaster engineering worker whose hand was crushed as he tried to save workmates from injury has been awarded a four-figure sum in damages.

Gordon Robson, a member of community union ISTC, was working on a racking system at Polypipe. He had climbed up a four-tier storage unit to replace a loose runner. As he completed the job, a forklift truck operated by his supervisor knocked the heavy metal track.

Fearing it would plummet down on to men working beneath, Robson grabbed hold of the runner as it fell, resulting in a fractured finger and deep lacerations.