Company fined £800k after young Scottish worker 'full of hopes' dies at wind farm construction site

Liam MacDonald, 23, was killed while removing dried concrete from a skip at the Viking site on Upper Kergord in Scotland contracted by civil engineers BAM Nuttall.

Mr MacDonald, an agency worker who had started working on the site just over a month earlier on May 4, 2022, had been using a hammer to chip away the concrete when the skip's bale arm fell on top of him.

The labourer, from Tain, Ross-shire, 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 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 the principal contractor BAM Nuttall failed to secure the bale arm from falling.

The HSE investigation 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.

Mr MacDonald’s mother, Wendy Robson, said the 23-year-old was "full of hopes and dreams" and was now missed "beyond words".

"Liam loved life, his family and friends,” she said. “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 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 Act 1974. The company was fined £800,000 with a £60,000 victim surcharge at Inverness Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The company’s fine was reduced from £1.2 million due to the timing of the plea.

Ms 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.”

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown 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.”