Injured at Work Due to Missing Safety Guards  

About Our Legal Expert: This content is produced with oversight by Michael Jefferies, Managing Director who has over 30 years’ legal experience.

Written by Tanya Waterworth, Digital Content Writer

Accidents Caused By Machinery Guarding Failures in England and Wales

• Workers injured due to missing safety guards in England and Wales may be entitled to claim compensation because employers must install and maintain fixed guards on dangerous machinery.
• Missing or faulty machine guards may frequently amount to employer negligence, especially when the hazard was foreseeable and preventable under UK health and safety law.
• Common injuries from unguarded machinery include amputations, crush injuries, lacerations, fractures, and long‑term nerve damage, often requiring extensive medical treatments and even rehabilitation.
• If you suffer injury because a safety guard was missing, you may be eligible to pursue a No Win No Fee personal injury claim, covering pain, suffering, lost earnings, and future care needs.

If you have been injured at work due to missing safety guards, you may want to find out more on how to claim compensation in England and Wales. It’s important to know that there is a three-year limitation period from the date of the accident, or from the date you became aware of your injury, to make a personal injury claim.

Why Missing Safety Guards Can Create Employer Liability

Missing safety guards can be a strong indicator of employer negligence in England and Wales. Under strict regulations, such as Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1998 (PUWER) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,  employers must take “reasonably practicable” steps to keep workers safe. When machinery is being used in a workplace, this duty becomes even more specific: employers must install, maintain, and routinely inspect fixed guards to prevent workers from coming into contact with dangerous moving parts.

Fixed guards are a legal requirement enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and they exist because unguarded machinery can cause life‑changing injuries within seconds. If a guard is missing, damaged, removed, or poorly fitted, the employer may well have failed to meet their duty of care.

Negligence is typically established when:

• Machine guards were missing, broken, or even removed to “speed up work”.
• Risk assessments failed to identify the hazard or were not updated after previous incidents.
• Maintenance schedules were ignored or incomplete.
• Training did not cover safe operation of machinery or the importance of guards.
• Supervision was inadequate, allowing unsafe practices to continue.

Real Life Example: Unguarded Conveyor Roller

A recent report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) highlighted a workplace accident where a worker suffered multiple fractures, including a broken arm, when she was cleaning a production line and “passed her hand through an unguarded conveyor roller”.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that the company had failed to prevent access to the rotating part of a conveyor line. It said that where routine access is required, interlocked guards may be necessary to prevent dangerous parts moving before a person can reach the danger zone.

HSE inspector Delcina Burden said, “Too many workers are seriously injured every year as a result of contact with dangerous parts of machinery due to inadequate or absent guarding. If simple measures had been taken, this incident could have been avoided”.

The baking goods company was fined £333,333 for their failings in this incident.

The Importance of Fixed Guards in Preventing Serious Workplace Hazards

Fixed guards are designed to create a physical barrier between workers and dangerous machine components such as blades, rollers, gears, conveyors, and cutting tools. They prevent accidental contact, entanglement, crushing, and amputation. If they are not in place, even routine tasks become hazardous.

Fixed guards are essential because they:

• Eliminate direct access to moving parts.
• Prevent clothing, gloves, or hair from becoming trapped.
• Stop debris or materials from being ejected at high speed.
• Reduce the risk of entrapment during cleaning or maintenance.
• Ensure machinery remains compliant with UK safety regulations.

Examples of Common Injuries Caused by Missing Safety Guards

Accidents involving missing guards are often severe because workers are exposed directly to powerful machinery. These injuries may typically require surgery, rehabilitation, and long‑term medical support. Some employees may even be left unable to return to their previous roles, making compensation essential for financial stability for the future for both the worker and their family.

Typical injuries may include:

• Amputations: fingers, hands, or limbs caught in moving parts.
• Crush injuries: hands or arms trapped between rollers or presses.
• Deep lacerations: contact with blades, cutting tools, or sharp mechanisms.
• Fractures: caused by sudden impact or entrapment.
• Degloving injuries: severe skin and tissue damage from rotating machinery.
• Nerve damage: long‑term loss of sensation or function.

In our analysis of anonymised enquiry data over a three-month period, unsafe machinery and poorly maintained work equipment repeatedly featured among the workplace hazards reported by people contacting us about injuries at work.

(Due to strict privacy and confidentiality requirements, we cannot disclose individual caller details or expand on specific injuries.)

5 Steps to Take If Injured Due to a Missing Safety Guard

If you, or a loved one, has suffered from a workplace injury because a safety guard was missing, it’s important to take the right steps early on:

1. Get Immediate Medical Attention

Accidents involving missing or faulty guarding may often cause serious accidents so it’s vital to get medical attention straight away. Medical records also serve as crucial evidence linking your injuries to the accident.

2. Report the Accident

Make sure the incident is recorded in the accident book. If your employer refuses, send an email so there is a written, dated record.

3. Gather Evidence

Useful evidence to obtain includes:

• Photos or videos of the missing guard.
• Witness statements from colleagues.
• Maintenance logs showing overdue repairs
• PUWER maintenance records and inspections.
• Emails or reports showing previous concerns.
• CCTV footage, if available.

Even if you’re not able to gather everything yourself, a solicitor can obtain evidence directly from your employer.

4. Avoid Making Statements That Suggest Fault

Do not apologise or accept blame. Machinery accidents caused by missing guards may often be preventable.

5. Contact a Specialist Work Injury Solicitor

We partner with personal injury solicitors who are experienced in work injury claims. They offer a free, initial consultation to assess your case. Should you proceed, they can also gather the relevant evidence and pursue maximum compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.

Can You Make a Personal Injury Claim After a Missing Safety Guard Accident?

If a safety guard was missing and you have bee ninjured as a result, you may be eligible pursue a personal injury claim against your employer’s insurance. You do not need to prove intentional wrongdoing, only that the employer failed to take reasonable steps to keep you safe.

However for your claim to succeed, you must be able to show:

• The guard was missing or defective.
• The employer knew or should have known about the hazard.
• The missing guard caused your injury.

Claims typically cover:

• General damages: pain, suffering, and loss of amenity.
• Special damages: lost earnings, medical costs, travel expenses.
• Future losses: reduced earning capacity, long‑term treatment.
• Care and assistance: support from family or professionals.

Because machinery injuries are often severe, compensation can be significant: see our Compensation Calculator.

What To Do Now?

If you were injured at work because a safety guard was missing, you may have strong grounds for a claim. Most claims are settled out of court with the workplace insurance, and you cannot be dismissed at work for making a claim. Compensation is there to help you get back on track, as far as possible, to your life prior to the accident.

For a free, initial consultation, contact our team today at 0333 358 3034 or complete our online contact form.