Bam Nuttall fined £700,000 after worker killed by dumper truck

Bam Nuttall has been fined £700,000 after a man was run over and killed by a dumper truck on site.

John Cameron was repairing equipment at the roadside at Blackhillock Substation in Keith, Scotland, on 28 October 2016 when he was run over by a six-tonne dumper truck. He suffered severe pelvic injuries and died as a result of them.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Bam Nuttall failed to adequately assess the risks to their employees while they were repairing and replacing equipment. It also failed to implement a system for finding places where people could carry out such work safely while being segregated from vehicles.

Bam Nuttall Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £700,000 after a hearing at Inverness Sheriff Court.

HSE inspector Penny Falconer said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a man. This death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved, and to put a safe system of work in place.”

A spokesperson for Bam Nuttall said the company had "deep regret" that Cameron died while working for them. "We recognise the terrible impact of the incident and share our condolences with Mr Cameron's family," they said. "The health and safety of our staff, contractors, visitors and members of the public is an overriding priority at Bam Nuttall, and we are deeply saddened that our failings allowed this incident to occur."

The spokesperson said the company fully cooperated with the HSE's investigation and accepted the court's sentence, adding that it had implemented changes to prevent a similar accident from happening again.

They said: "We have introduced new zonal systems to reduce the risk from people and plant interfacing on site. Our fleet of forward tipping dumpers (FTD) was reduced to zero and their use was removed entirely from our operations. Through our trade body, we supported changing the design of FTD to improve visibility and stability. This involved many stakeholders and has led to the adoption of new, safer equipment across the industry."