Nasa Iqbal lost all his fingers and attempts to rebuild his hand failed.
Ash Food Fair owner Akhtar Khan previously admitted a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. His case was sent to the city’s crown court for sentence on February 16.
Barry Berlin, prosecuting for Birmingham City Council said the small supermarket, which employed three to four people and sold fresh and packages products, kept the mincer in the meat room. He said the machine should have had a guard to stop users putting their hand in a hole, but it had snapped and broken off about a month before 37 year-old Mr Iqbal lost his fingers.
Staff had been using a plunger to insert meat since the breakage.
Fellow workers heard Mr Iqbal screaming on the morning of October 12 as he placed his right hand inside the machine. They called an ambulance when they realised he had been injured. The machine continued to operate as crews made their way to the shop. A paramedic recovered three of Mr Iqbal’s fingers after the machine was dismantled. About an hour later a police officer found the machine was still being used when he visited the shop.
In the evening two officers from the city council also discovered meat and herbs were still being passed through the machine. One of the employees said washing liquid had been used to clean it. But the officers issued a prohibition notice banning its use until stronger chemicals had been used to disinfect it.
Simon Morgan, defending, said there had been arrangements to repair the guard, but there had been an unacceptable delay before the accident occurred.
