Firms fined over gate death tragedy
Two companies have been fined after a lorry driver was killed when steel gates which were being unloaded from his vehicle at a site in Inverness fell on him.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was called in to investigate after Andrew Brown, 58, was struck by two gates which weighed approximately 24 stone at Simpsons Garden Centre on August 27, 2008.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Mr Brown had picked up 20 steel safety gates from Mackay Steelwork and Cladding Ltd in Delny, near Invergordon.
The HSE discovered that Mr Brown had been able to gain access to an area close to the side of his lorry while the gates were being unloaded. He suffered serious neck injuries in the ensuing accident.
His employer, James Paterson Haulage Ltd, was fined £13,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Mackay Steelwork and Cladding Ltd, of Longman Drive, Inverness, was fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the same Act.
Mackay Steelwork and Cladding Ltd also admitted it had failed to make cones and tape available to create a safe place of work around the lorry during the unloading operation.
Both companies admitted failing to adequately liaise with each other or obtain enough information to ensure a safe system of work was in place, particularly in relation to the role Mr Brown would play in unloading the gates.