Contractor fined over cherry picker fall

A contractor has been fined a total of £215,000 after a roofer suffered severe injuries when he was thrown from a cherry picker that was hit by a bus.

Main contractor McTaggart Construction Ltd, based in North Ayrshire, pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 10 October to charges relating to breaches of construction and health and safety regulations.

The fine imposed consists of a £200,000 penalty plus an additional £15,000 victim surcharge.

Debbie Carroll, who leads health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “This was a serious incident that could have been avoided if McTaggart Construction Ltd had put in place the appropriate planning and protective measures.

“Falls from height are usually the greatest single cause of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.”

According to a statement by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the incident happened on 4 February 2022 at a construction site on Ardencraig Road in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow.

The cherry picker, with its basket elevated, was positioned to carry out cladding repairs. Around midday, a double-decker bus collided with the ‘knuckle’ of the cherry picker – the mechanism extending over the road – resulting in a forceful jolt that lifted the cherry picker onto its rear wheels.

This movement caused the cherry picker’s boom to strike a lamppost.

The impact ejected the roofer, who was not secured within the basket, onto the roof of a nearby parked car, and subsequently onto the pavement.

The operator of the cherry picker managed to stay within the basket.

The roofer, aged 27 at the time, sustained severe injuries and is now permanently impaired as a result of the fall.

An investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive found that McTaggart Construction failed to adequately plan the work conducted at height and did not ensure the implementation of personal protective equipment.

The investigation highlighted an absence of effective measures to segregate the cherry picker operations from traffic, contributing to the occurrence of the accident.

In response to the incident, McTaggart Construction has undertaken comprehensive remedial and preventative measures, including a thorough review of its operational processes and safety policies, according to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Carroll said: “Hopefully this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have serious and life-changing consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.”

No statement has been provided by McTaggart Construction regarding the court’s decision at the time of reporting.