The grieving mum of a young labourer who was crushed to death at a Scots wind farm says his family has been “robbed”.
Liam Macdonald from Tain, Ross-shire, died on June 5, 2022, while working at the Viking site on Upper Kergord in the Shetland Islands.
The 23-year-old had only taken on the role as an agency worker just over a month before the tragic incident. The labourer had been using a hammer to chip away dried concrete from a skip when the machine’s bale arm fell on top of him.
Liam was found motionless with the skip’s bale arm pinned against his chest, and colleagues rushed to raise the emergency alarm. Staff performed CPR on the young man, before administering a defibrillator, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Contractor BAM Nuttall was fined £800,000 after an investigation concluded the company had failed to put in place a safe system of work to protect staff.
Mum Wendy Robson said she mourned her son who was “full of hopes and dreams” and will never meet the children he wanted.
She 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.”
A Heath and Safety Execuative (HSE) investigation found BAM Nuttall had failed to secure the bale arm from falling, identify the risks of it failing 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.
BAM Nuttall Limited, of Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey, 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 £800k with a £60k victim surcharge at Inverness Sheriff Court on Wednesday, December 18.
Investigating inspector 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 to ensure that everyone is kept safe.”
Debbie Carroll, health and safety investigations lead for the C rown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “The death of Liam MacDonald could have been prevented if BAM Nuttall Limited had suitably and sufficiently assessed the risks involved in the maintenance and cleaning of the concrete column skip at the site.
“Their failure to identify the hazards represented by the skip’s bale arm and ensuring that it was secured prior to the cleaning operation beginning led to Mr MacDonald’s death.
“My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”
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