An engineering firm has been fined more than £145,000 after a plumber from Tayside died on the building site of Aberdeen’s new hospital.
Leeds-headquartered NG Bailey admitted culpability after it failed to identify risks posed to staff working on the project, which led to the death of plumber Alistair Hutton, 51, on January 18 last year.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how the father-of-one was using a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP) while working on the construction of the new Baird Family Hospital project.
While taking the MEWP to be charged, Mr Hutton – originally from Dundee and latterly Inverarity, near Forfar – struck his head on a beam and suffered “catastrophic” injuries.
He never regained consciousness and died.
He was laid to rest in Dundee the following month.
NG Bailey was fined a total of £145,125 after it pled guilty to failing to make a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risk to workers of striking their head while riding on the back of the MEWP.
The firm also admitted failing to implement safe systems of work on the site.
‘Tragic death’
Before handing down his decision, Sheriff Graham Buchanan described the incident as a “tragic death” and expressed the court’s sincere condolences to Mr Hutton’s wife and family.
In relation to the offence itself, Sheriff Buchanan said: “I am satisfied that this tragic incident can accurately be described as an isolated one.
“I take into account the fact that the accused company has no previous convictions.
“I have also had regard to the various mitigating factors.”
Fiscal depute Catherine Fraser told the court the MEWP Mr Hutton was assigned to use that day was low on electrical power and he took it to a transformer to charge it.
The MEWP would easily pass through the opening in a doorway but if someone was on board they would be required to duck down to avoid striking the beams above.
“At around 9.35am while passing through an opening Mr Hutton’s head struck a metal lintel rendering him immediately unconscious with catastrophic head injuries,” Ms Fraser said.
“Mr Hutton never regained consciousness and his injuries were later described by a pathologist as non-survivable.”
A post-mortem later listed the cause of death as a head injury as a result of the incident at work.
Ms Fraser described the incident as caused by “a risk that wasn’t identified until it was ultimately too late.”
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also deemed it an incident that should have been picked up but was not.
Conceding the danger posed “was missed,” defence advocate Barry Smith KC said the incident “should be regarded as an isolated occurrence”.
He added the company reacted “quickly” and “appropriately” following the accident – adding that it had “learned lessons” from the tragedy.
Mr Smith pointed out NG Bailey has a “safety first approach” but on this occasion, the safety failure “was not identified”.
“It is of the utmost regret to the company that its efforts could not prevent this accident and its circumstances,” he added.
Hospital work ongoing
The Baird Family Hospital was due to open in 2020 but has been hit by a series of delays blamed on rising costs, Covid, Brexit and redesign work.
The project – which will replace Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and is being built alongside the Anchor Centre – has been in the works since 2014 and comprises the largest sum NHS Grampian has ever spent on a facility.
There is currently no date scheduled for its opening.
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