JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (AP) - A Jefferson County company is being fined 88-thousand, 500 dollars after an employee lost both his arms in a drywall shredder in January.

Machine manufacturer Six Sigma Incorporated of Jeffersontown has 15 days to appeal findings of the Kentucky Labor Department.

State law says employees can successfully sue employers for a workplace injury only if they can prove the company deliberately intended for them to be harmed. Welding supervisor Billy Parker lost his arms while he was cleaning the shredder. The state found that Six Sigma committed a willful, serious violation by failing to have procedures for locking out electricity to the shredder and other equipment while they were under repair. A citation says that
put 30 employees at risk, including Parker, who was critically
injured.

Parker has said he was handed a screwdriver and told to clean the machine while it was running, in direct violation of OSHA rules that require that power to machines be locked out when they're under repair. An attorney for the company says Parker was never told to clean the machine with the screwdriver and did it strictly on his own.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)