BAM Nuttall has been fined £800,000 following the death of a labourer during the construction of a wind farm on the Shetland Islands.
Liam MacDonald, from Tain, Ross-shire, lost his life on the morning of 5 June 2022 while removing dried concrete from a skip at the Viking site on Upper Kergord.
The 23-year-old agency worker had been using a hammer to chip away the concrete when the skip’s bale arm fell on top of him. He was found motionless with the skip’s bale arm pinned against his chest, which led to an alarm being raised at the site.
Colleagues subsequently performed CPR on him, before administering a defibrillator, but he was pronounced dead at the scene by the emergency services.
Jackie Randell, the investigating inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), found that principal contractor BAM Nuttall had failed to secure the bale arm from falling.
An HSE probe found the company had failed to identify the risks of the bale arm falling and failed to put in place a safe system of work to ensure that anyone using, maintaining or cleaning the skip would be protected from harm
Wendy Robson, Mr MacDonald’s mother, said, “Liam loved life, his family and friends. He was just at the start of his adult life, still finding who he was, and full of hopes and dreams. We have been robbed of having Liam here today, and in all our tomorrows, and in sharing those dreams with him. We will never meet the children he so wanted to have one day. We can’t adequately describe who Liam was, and what he means to us. We love and miss him beyond words.”
BAM Nuttall pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £800,000 with a £60,000 victim surcharge at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Jackie Randell said, “This was a tragic incident which led to the death of a young man. Our thoughts remain with Mr MacDonald’s friends and family at this time. BAM Nuttall had failed in its duty to ensure the safety of their workforce. This prosecution should serve as a reminder for all contractors to implement suitable risk assessments and safe systems of work.
“We thoroughly investigated this incident, with our findings identifying that BAM Nuttall had failed in its duty to ensure the safety of their workforce. This prosecution should serve as a reminder for all contractors to implement suitable risk assessments and safe systems of work.
“Up to date safety information provided by manufacturers of work equipment must be reviewed as part of this risk assessment process. It is of crucial importance that safety information from manufacturers is highlighted to the workforce and rigorous monitoring is carried out to ensure that everyone is kept safe.”
