Firm fined £700,000 after fatal dumper truck accident

BAM Nuttall Limited has been fined £700,000 after an employee lost his life after being run over by a six-tonne dumper truck.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that on 28 October 2016, at Blackhillock Substation, Keith, then under construction, Mr John Cameron was changing over a blade on a piece of work equipment at the side of a roadway when he was run over by a six-tonne dumper truck. Mr Cameron sustained serious pelvic injuries and died as a result.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and said that Bam Nuttall Limited had ‘failed to adequately assess the risks to their employees whilst they were repairing and replacing equipment. They failed to provide a system of work in relation to this task which defined a place or places where such work could be carried out safely and which segregated people from vehicles’.

BAM Nuttall Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £700,000.

After the hearing, HSE inspector, Penny Falconer said, “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a man. This death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved, and to put a safe system of work in place.”