An Aberdeenshire building firm has been fined more than £5,000 after two workers were injured when they were lifted by a digger in an unsecured metal basket.
James S Youngson Ltd accepted culpability at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after two subcontractors were hurt during work to remove chain link fencing from the site of the former Kincorth Academy.
A risk assessment was prepared for the men to use ladders, but it was decided to change the approach and use a loading basket instead.
The basket was then raised to a height while balancing on the forks of a digger.
The failure to secure the basket caused it to tip when one of the men moved to the side and they both fell to the ground.
One man suffered an eye injury that required surgery while the other fractured two ribs and suffered an accumulation of blood within his ribs cavity.
Defence solicitor Carole Ferguson said that following the incident, on September 19 2020, and during the lengthy HSE investigation, Mr Youngson “has always accepted responsibility” for what happened.
“The complaint concerns a sole incident that took place during one specific day after an attempt was made the system of work safer,” she said.
“Mr Youngson – the director of the company – perhaps could be said to have overthought the situation.
“He was watching the men work and thought it looked dangerous and that perhaps there would be a better way to carry out the work, so he took it upon himself to find a safer way to stop a potential head injury.
“As a result, he took the decision to use the man-basket, which he believed would make the system safer.
“Unfortunately, this change is what led to the incident.”
Ms Ferguson added that “to this day” Mr Youngson is “unaware why he did not attach the man-basket to the digger”.
“This is something he will regret as he did not intend for this change to result in an injury – it was an attempt to make the system safer,” the solicitor said, adding: “He feels terrible about what happened.”
‘High degree of risk’
Sheriff Lesley Johnston told the court that in arriving at the appropriate sentence she had “taken into account the seriousness of the offence and the culpability of harm”.
She continued: “This was a breach on a single with two albeit related failures – first not to carry out a risk assessment before using the basket and secondly the failure to ensure the basket was secured and attached to the loader.
“Those failures caused the fall and the injuries that ensued – but both individuals were released from hospital on the same day and made a full recovery in six weeks.”
Stating that the incident posed a “high degree of risk”, Sheriff Johnston fined James S Youngson Limited, Westerton, Echt, a total of £5,175.
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