The man was working on a tractor-mounted bulb harvesting machine at the university's horticultural research site in Lincolnshire when the incident happened.
Both the University and the firm that loaned out the machinery were in court recently (6th July) to answer health and safety charges.
The firm that loaned the machinery pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 for failing to supply machinery that met essential health and safety regulations.
The university pleaded guilty to beaching Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
During the Health and Safety Executive prosecution, Boston Magistrates' Court heard that on 13 October 2008, an agency employee was sorting bulbs when his hand got trapped in between rollers and he was pulled into the machine up to his shoulder.
The employee suffered severe soft tissue damage to his right arm including damage to the muscles, tendons and ligaments. As a result of his injuries he needed physiotherapy for 18 months.
The machine, which had been imported, was originally a potato harvester but had been modified before being supplied by the firm.
The HSE investigation found the firm had failed to ensure the harvester satisfied essential health and safety requirements by preventing exposure to moving parts of the machinery. In addition, the university failed to take measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery.
The firm was fined £800 with £1,726.71 costs while the university was handed a £3,000 fine with £2,091.20 costs.
An Inspector from the HSE commented after the hearing:
"The machine was modified by the firm prior to supply and they failed to adequately assess the machinery's guarding. Following the supply of the machine, the defective guarding should have been identified by the university but despite several inspections, the lack of effective guarding of the rollers remained unnoticed.
Companies who intend to modify machinery prior to supply must ensure that the machinery is in fact safe. Both suppliers and users must ensure that dangerous parts are adequately guarded to prevent access and to ensure that workers are not put at risk."