A man lost two fingers and a thumb while operating a packaging machine at work in Trafford Park.
The man was operating the packaging machine at the Beacon Road base of VN Labs, a producer of e-liquid, at the time of the incident in 2020.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the machine became blocked and the worker tried to remove a piece of plastic to resolve it.
However as the machine became unblocked the blade sliced into his hand. He lost two fingers, an index finger and a middle finger, and a thumb.
In a statement, he said: "The accident has had an impact on my daily activities because from day one until now I didn't have a day without pain.
"My mind has completely changed. I can't do simple tasks such as prepare eggs for my children. I used to enjoy hobbies like judo, jujitsu and climbing.
"My mental health has suffered because of the accident and it isn't regular like it was before. There is a lot of instability. I have good days and bad days.
"My financial situation has deteriorated and I feel like I have no control over anything. I can't work and I have to delay all my bills including my rent. It was never like this before."
An investigation revealed the machine was imported without any guarding and the guarding was installed by VN Labs when it arrived.
However access to some of the parts was still possible and there was no risk assessment and no safe system for when it became blocked.
VN Labs admitted breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act and, on June 16, it was ordered to pay a fine of £180,000 by the magistrates at Manchester Magistrates' Court.
It was ordered to pay £7,490 in court costs.
HSE inspector Joseph Wright said: "This incident could so easily have been avoided. Employers should ensure they carry out an assessment of the risks and put in safe systems of work for the operation of all machinery.
"Companies should recognise the need to ensure machinery is guarded to the standard of UK legislation even when imported from another country because they may have different laws around the standard of guarding."
This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.
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