A cook was preparing fish. Whilst filleting the fish he removed the chain glove meant for his personal protection, in order to get a better grip on the fish. During the process, he cut himself causing a minor surface cut. He did not report or treat the cut. A few days later the finger got badly infected and cook had to spend 3 days in hospital. He almost lost his hand.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS INCIDENT

• Cook failed to follow procedures by removing chain-gloves whilst filleting the fish.
• Supervisor failed to follow incident reporting procedures. HSE/97/01 `Incident Notification, Investigation, Reporting and Follow-up' demands that all incidents be reported, including near-misses.
• Lack of proper medical attention, and failure to report the incident led to an LTI that could have been avoided.
• Employees and supervisors should feel it is an obligation to report all incidents. Effective incident reporting results in lessons being cascaded and prevention of future occurrence.