Carl Woodbridge, a technician working for Ambius, a subsidiary of Rentokil Initial UK Ltd, was at the centre:mk in October 2008, to carry out pruning on several large cacti, one of which had become unstable.
After pruning several of the cactus plants he cut into a branch and liquid sap squirted into his right eye as he wasn’t wearing any face or eye protection. The sap also splashed his face, neck and arm which resulted in a rash to these areas.
Mr Woodbridge was taken to Milton Keynes Hospital and treated for injuries to his eye, neck, face and arm, following the incident.
The investigation into the accident showed that Rentokil Initial UK Ltd had failed to provide adequate information, instruction and training to ensure the safety of its staff carrying out their work, and on Friday the company appeared in court to admit:
One offence under Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,
•One offence under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and
•One offence under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 Regulation 3 (1) (b) as they failed to notify the Local Authority of the accident in the prescribed time.
Milton Keynes magistrates fined the company a total of £12000 and it was also ordered to pay costs of £3,967.26. The magistrates acknowledged the improvements that the company had achieved following the accident, and said that the fines would have been a third higher but were reduced for the early guilty pleas.
In the longer term the injury to his eye resulted in Mr Woodbridge suffering from glare and having to wear glasses with an anti glare lens fitted.
An MKC Environmental Health spokesperson said: “This was an entirely preventable situation if the work had been properly planned and implemented. This employee suffered considerable physical discomfort as a result of not receiving adequate training or guidance.”
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