A Scottish haulage firm has been fined £150,000 after a lorry driver was fatally electrocuted when washing his vehicle.
Grant Borton, 25, sadly died after preparing his lorry at the Andrew Black Ltd's premises at Drem Airfield, East Lothian, on December 31, 2021.
The firm pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after failing to ensure there were suitable controls in place for work carried out near dangerous overhead power lines between November 15, 2021 and January 5, 2022.
LGV driver Grant was using the wash bay to clean his truck in preparation for his next shift. After leaving the wash bay, he raised the tipper which made contact with the overhead power lines. Tragically, he was electrocuted and died.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that a failure to ensure suitable control measures were in place resulted in Mr Borton's death at the airfield.
The company had not undertaken a risk assessment regarding the hazard of overhead power lines on site, and there were no suitable means to warn drivers exiting the wash bay they were there.
In place were a "faded, illegible sign" and a single A4 sized laminated sheet, which did not meet with the regulatory requirements for warning signs. They were pointed in the opposite direction from the wash bay and would not have been visible to a driver exiting.
A HSE report said the company should have contacted Scottish Power to have the lines buried, or put in place signage and road markings to form an exclusion zone.
Since the incident, the company has buried all overhead power lines on the site. Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “Grant Borton lost his life in circumstances which could have been avoided had the risks been recognised and simple controls put in place.
“By failing to have suitable controls in place to prevent contact with overhead power lines Andrew Black Ltd put their employees in danger of electrocution.
“This prosecution should remind employers that failing to take reasonable health and safety measures can have fatal consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure.”
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