A company director has been sentenced for health and safety failings which led to an employee being thrown to his death in Perthshire.
Kevin Bowie, 38 was sole director of Denny-based Precision Decorating Services (Scotland) Ltd.
Decorator Michael McArthur had been working for him on a cherry picker in Doune when it was clipped by a tour bus and he fell 26 feet to his death on the street below.
At Falkirk Sheriff Court, Bowie, from Cumbernauld, was given a community payback order and unpaid work.
He had been found guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety Act and Working at Height Regulations.
Warning over safety failings
The court previously heard that on 27 September 2018 Mr McArthur, 26, was in the basket platform of the cherry picker, raised to the upper levels of a house on Balkerach Street, to allow him to work on dormer windows.
The tour bus struck the arm of the cherry picker and Mr McArthur was thrown from the basket and fell to the road, sustaining severe injuries from which he died.
No suitable measures were in place to effectively segregate the cherry picker from street traffic.
Measures such as cones, barriers, traffic lights or stop-and-go signals should have been considered, the court heard.
Bowie was found to have failed to ensure the work being carried out was properly planned, appropriately supervised and undertaken in a manner which was, as far as reasonably practicable, safe.
He was sentenced to 18 months’ supervision and must carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
Alistair Duncan, Head of the Health and Safety Investigation Unit, Crown Office, said:
“This was a tragic incident that could have been avoided if Kevin Bowie had put in place appropriate protective measures to protect his employee Michael McArthur.
“Falls from height are usually the greatest single cause of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.
“Hopefully this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have severe and tragic consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.”
‘Remarkable young man’
Some 800 mourners attended the funeral of Mr McArthur, from Rothesay.
He had been a keen Celtic fan and tributes were paid in the 26th minute of the club’s next match.
A total of £300,000 was awarded to the family after they raised an action for damages in the Court of Session.
Making his judgement, Lord Armstrong said: “On the evidence presented, the deceased would appear to have been a remarkable young man who brought people together and was much appreciated by his local community.
“I accept that in the context of strong family ties, his relationships with the pursuers (relatives) were particularly close and that, in consequence, his death has had profound effect, and has especially affected them.”
A public fundraiser attracted more than £15,000 of donations to make a memorial for him.
