Packaging Firm Fined £64,000 After Worker's Hand Crushed in Machine
Published on 08/13/2026 at 13:47 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A Telford packaging company has been ordered to pay more than £64,000 in fines and costs after an employee's hand was crushed in a laminating machine — the second major safety penalty for the firm in under a year.
Reflex Flexible Packaging Ltd appeared at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on August 10, 2026, following a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident at its Telford facility.
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Serious Injuries Required Surgery
The accident happened on January 17, 2025, while the employee was operating a laminator. The worker's hand became trapped in the machinery, causing injuries severe enough to require a four-night hospital stay and two separate surgical procedures.
The HSE investigation found the machine lacked a fixed guard that would have prevented access to dangerous moving parts. Inspectors also determined that the company's risk assessment for the operation was inadequate, failing to identify or mitigate the hazards that led to the injury.
Fine and Costs Imposed
The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £4,464 in prosecution costs.
The HSE said the incident was preventable, pointing to the absence of physical safeguards as a primary cause of what it described as life-altering injuries. The court heard that the company failed to ensure staff safety through proper equipment maintenance and thorough safety evaluations.
Under UK health and safety law, employers have a legal duty to ensure machinery is properly guarded and that risk assessments are suitable and sufficient. Fixed guards are a fundamental control measure for protecting workers from moving parts.
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Second Penalty in Less Than a Year
This latest fine follows a far larger penalty for the manufacturer. In November 2025, Reflex Flexible Packaging Ltd was fined £277,500 after a fatal incident at its Langley Mill site.
The Telford accident occurred just months before the company was sentenced for the earlier fatality, highlighting a period of significant safety lapses across multiple locations. The recurring nature of these failures has raised questions about the firm's internal safety protocols and its ability to learn from previous incidents.
