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Company fined £750k over employee's fatal injuries
Somers Forge Limited was fined £750,000 after failing to prevent unsafe use of handheld emery cloth on lathes, leading to a machinist’s death in a 20-metre lathe incident.
- On February 18, 2026, Walsall Magistrates' Court fined Somers Forge Limited £750,000 and ordered £38,314 costs after the company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
- The Health and Safety Executive found Somers Forge failed to prohibit handheld emery cloth on lathes and prevent access to moving parts, with fatal injuries occurring on December 8, 2023.
- While finishing a rotating component with handheld emery cloth, machinist Nick Hardiman became entangled in a lathe and died later that evening at Somers Forge Limited's Prospect Road forge, Halesowen.
- Somers Forge's spokesperson said, `We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our respected colleague Nick Hardiman`, and HSE brought the prosecution led by Chloe Ward and Stephen Grabe.
- HSE Inspector Sophie Neale said the incident was entirely preventable and urged employers to ensure safe systems of work to prevent risks from dangerous machinery.
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