A chemical company was fined £560,000 after an accident in which scalding water "erupted" over a father-of-two at its Stirlingshire plant, scarring him for life.
Colin Brockie, then 47, from Falkirk was left with burns to the full length of his right arm and leg, partial burns to his left foot, and burns to his left leg and groin.
He spent a month in the specialist burns unit of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, followed by six months treatment at home.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard he had suicidal thoughts and saw a psychologist for 18 months following the incident at the Calachem plant in Earls Road, Grangemouth.
Due to repeated delays, it has taken five years for the criminal case against the company, which admitted breaching health and safety laws by failing to ensure Mr Brockie's safety, as a result of which he was severely injured and permanently disfigured, to be dealt with.
Prosecutor Selena Brown said Mr Brockie and his family had suffered "immense emotional and financial stress" as a result of the incident, on March 4th 2016.
Skin grafts had been ruled out by his consultant as "too traumatic" and having no guarantee of improving the appearance of his scarred skin, about which he remained self-conscious and always kept covered.
Ms Brown said Mr Brockie had also been left with permanent nerve pain.
Formerly a keen footballer, he was now unable to play due to fear of being tackled or the ball hitting him.
He had also been left with limited movement, can no longer raise his arms above his head due to the tightness of the skin on the arms, and can't now lift heavy weights such as shopping.
The court heard the accident happened when Mr Brockie was cleaning a powder chute connected to a large reaction vessel which had been used to produce an inkjet and printer toner chemical for a Dutch firm.
The chute had been filled with water overnight at the end of the seven week "campaign" to produce the chemical, which occurred once a year.
The water had been brought to the boil by inserting a steam hose.
The next day Mr Brockie opened a valve to empty the boiling water into the reaction vessel, but the vessel had been filled with pressurised nitrogen gas, also for cleaning.
Ms Brown, the depute fiscal, said: "When Mr Brown tried to empty the boiling water in the charge chute he opened a valve expecting the water to download to the vessel below but, because the vessel had been pressurised by nitrogen, instead of draining away the boiling water erupted from the chute scalding Mr Brockie."
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She said the position of a hand switch used to open the valve meant Mr Brockie was "caught full on by the scalding water erupting from the tube".
Imposing the £560,000 fine, Sheriff Christopher Shead said he had applied "ordinary sentencing principles"
He said: "The court's reached the conclusion that the 'headline' sentence should be a fine of £700,000, modified by £140,000 to reflect the stage at which the plea of guilty was tendered."
He gave the company, which had an annual turnover last year of £49 million, 12 months to pay.
The court heard Mr Brockie is still unable even to stand for any length of time, but was now in the process of establishing his own business, a driving school.
We have contacted Calachem asking for comment.
