A demolition company has been fined after a worker fell six metres through a roof opening during a demolition project, suffering serious injuries.

Lawrie (Demolition) Limited had been appointed as the principal contractor to carry out the demolition of a vacant warehouse in Aberdeen.

On 25 May 2023, 42-year-old Sylwester Zdunczyk was working with a team on the warehouse roof, removing aluminium over-sheeting. The sheets were being carried to pre-cut holes in the roof from where they were dropped to the ground floor. These holes were guarded by steel crowd control barriers secured together with plastic tie wraps – but they were not attached to the roof surface. No other fall prevention measures were in place.

While helping to carry a sheet backwards near one of the holes, Mr Zdunczyk lost his footing. The weight of the sheet and his own bodyweight caused the unattached barriers to shift, exposing the edge of the opening and creating a gap. He fell approximately six metres to the concrete floor below.

Mr Zdunczyk sustained a fractured pelvis and two broken ribs. He was unable to work for six months after being discharged from hospital and has not fully recovered. Previously fit and active, he can no longer run, cycle or play football and now requires pain medication.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Lawrie (Demolition) Limited failed to properly plan, supervise, and carry out the work at height safely. Workers were sent onto the roof without sufficient instruction, training or supervision. The company also failed to put adequate fall protection measures in place.

Working at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height.

Lawrie (Demolition) Limited, of Rigifa, Cove, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £40,562.50 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 12 June 2025.

HSE inspector Muhammad Umair Tanvir said:
“This incident could have been avoided by simply implementing appropriate control measures and safe working practices.

“Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in UK workplaces. In 2023/24, 50 workers died following a fall from height – the highest cause of workplace fatalities. This trend has remained consistent over recent years.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in Scotland can be found here.

• James Young died in hospital more than a week after the fall
• Locking fault on “ambulift” had been in place for some time before incident
• HSE guidance is available on the maintenance of work equipment.

The owner of Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a pensioner fell from an ambulift on his return from holiday.

Following the fall, James Young was admitted to hospital, but died more than a week later from his injuries .

The 81-year-old had just landed at the airport after holidaying on the Greek island of Rhodes with his wife Anne, when the incident happened on 28 November 2023.

Mr Young and his wife, who has mobility issues, had been waiting for one of the airport’s ambulifts to assist them disembarking the aircraft shortly after 4pm. The couple had been two of six people requiring the assistance of the ambulift following the flight.

Ambulifts are a specially designed vehicle to assist passengers with reduced mobility. Edinburgh airport has several such vehicles which are owned, maintained and operated by the airport and driven by its employees.

Passengers who cannot embark or disembark using the aircraft steps can use an ambulift cabin, which is capable of being elevated to the level of the aircraft’s door and lowered to the chassis of the vehicle. At the rear of the vehicle, a tail lift platform is then deployed to the same level as the floor level of the passenger compartment.

Passengers then exit the compartment onto the tail lift, which unlike the compartment, is not enclosed, but has safety side rails and a rear gate around its perimeter. Once secure on the tail lift, it is lowered to ground level, allowing its users to move on to the tarmac step free.

Mr Young attempted to pass a piece of hand luggage to a worker on the ground whilst the tail lift had not yet been lowered. It is believed he leant  against the safety rail, which swung open causing him to fall approximately five feet to the ground below.

He was assisted to his feet and helped into a wheelchair and although he wasn’t thought to have sustained serious injury at time, he was taken to hospital. When examined at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, it was found Mr Young had sustained  serious injuries and he subsequently died on 7 December as a result of these injuries.

As a result of the incident, Edinburgh Airport Limited submitted a RIDDOR to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and an investigation was carried out. That found that when it was raised from the ground, the locking mechanism on the tail lift’s safety rail was misaligned, meaning it could potentially open outwards if pressure was applied to it. When the safety rail moved outwards from the lifting platform an open edge was created and it was through this that Mr Young fell.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require every employer to ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Equipment must be maintained so that its performance does not deteriorate to the extent that people are put at risk. HSE guidance is available on the maintenance of work equipment.

Edinburgh Airport Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £80,000 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 10 June 2025.

HSE inspector Jurate Gruzaite, said: “Edinburgh Airport Limited had a duty to ensure all of its work equipment was maintained in an efficient state and in working order. The company failed in this duty and had a role in a family tragedy that unfolded the moment Mr and Mrs Young returned from holiday.

“It is clear that the fault on the ambulift had been in place before Mr Young fell from the platform.

“We can only hope this tragic incident is one the industry can learn from.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in Scotland can be found here.

A Scottish local authority has been fined more than £13,000 after a carbon monoxide leak at a primary school in Bishopbriggs.

East Dunbartonshire Council pleaded guilty following the incident at Balmuildy Primary School in February 2020.  A number of staff and pupils attending the school on 19 February 2020 reported feeling ill, experiencing symptoms such as headaches and nausea. Throughout the day, several pupils were sent home and staff had to take medication to relieve symptoms. The following day, testing for a gas leak revealed high levels of carbon monoxide present in areas of the school. The building was immediately evacuated.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in conjunction with Gas Safe Register investigators, found that one of the two auxiliary gas boilers present at the site was leaking carbon monoxide into the boiler room and the school buildings. The investigation found this was due to a lack of maintenance.

Had the faults with the boiler been found prior to the incident through the required routine maintenance, it would have been classed as immediately dangerous in line with the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GUSP). This would have necessitated the disconnection of the gas boiler until the boiler was repaired for further use.

HSE provides free guidance to dutyholders: Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances. The guidance states that effective maintenance of appliances usually involves an ongoing programme of regular/periodic inspections, together with any necessary remedial work.

In the absence of specific manufacturers’ instructions, effective maintenance should include as a minimum:

• examination of the physical condition and safe functioning of appliance(s);
• installation pipework;
• ventilation and any flue for deterioration;
• carrying out performance tests; and
• taking the necessary remedial action.

East Dunbartonshire Council of Strathkelvin Place, Kirkintilloch, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 35 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The council was fined £13,333 plus a victim surcharge of £999.98 at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 20 March 2025.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Easson, said: “This is the second time in five years that East Dunbartonshire Council have been handed a significant fine for failing to protect employees and children at a primary school under their control.”

“Although nobody suffered any serious adverse effects during this incident, we hope that this prosecution demonstrates that HSE will not hesitate to take action and that failures of this nature are simple not acceptable.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here: Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A multi-national company that manufactures wood-based products has been fined more than £1 million after two workers were injured in separate incidents.

West Fraser (Europe) Ltd, formerly known as Norbord pleaded guilty to several health and safety breaches related to two incidents that took place at its plant in Cowie within six months of each other in 2020.

In the first  Sean Gallagher, 29, a utility operator, suffered serious injuries after his leg became entangled in moving parts at the bottom of a storage bunker in January 2020.

In July of the same year, David McMillan, 39, a scaffolder, plunged more than 13 feet to the ground after a rusty plate gave way on a rooftop gantry.

Both incidents led to investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The same company had  been fined more than £2million in 2022 after another employee died after suffering serious burns at the same plant.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Mr Gallagher had been employed by the firm for a period of five years, spending the last two of which working at its biomass plant. On 20 January, he noticed a fault on a bunker at the plant.  He initially entered the bunker to carry out an inspection, and did so in accordance with the company’s safe system of work procedure.

However, when he identified further issues later into his shift, he entered the bunker again, but this time had not turned off the power. He became entangled in the machinery and had to use his own phone to alert a control room operator. He was eventually extracted from the machine and taken to hospital, with injuries including compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

As a result of the incident, the company installed a mesh guard across the bunker hatch, which is padlocked shut. It can only be unlocked by the supervisor once the system has been isolated.

The second incident happened on 21 July and resulted in David McMillan suffering multiple fractures to his body, including his neck and ankle. He had been working at height when a plate on the steel gantry gave way causing him to fall to the ground. He spent 20 days in hospital. The subsequent HSE investigation found there was no maintenance schedule or system of checks for the gantry structure. The steel flooring to the gantry was found to have been corroded in places, while some of the welds holding the plates in place were at the point of failure. Following the incident, the gantry was immediately placed out of bounds before it was dismantled and removed from the site.

In relation to the first incident, West Fraser (Europe) Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £28,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

For the second incident, West Fraser (Europe) Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with sections 4(2) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £1,040,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Easson, said: “This is the second time in five years this company has been handed a large fine for failing to protect workers.

“Although both men sustained very serious injuries in these latest incidents, both are lucky to be alive.

“We hope this outcome demonstrates that repeated failures of this nature are not acceptable.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

An engineering company has been fined after a labourer died during the construction of a wind farm on the Shetland Islands.

Liam MacDonald, from Tain, Ross-shire, lost his life on the morning of 5 June 2022 while removing dried concrete from a skip at the Viking site on Upper Kergord.

His mother has said the 23-year-old was “full of hopes and dreams” and is now missed “beyond words.”

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

The 23-year-old 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 on Mr MacDonald, before administering a defibrillator, but he was sadly 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

Wendy Robson, Mr MacDonald’s mother, said: “Liam loved life, his family and friends. 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 etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £800k with a £60k victim surcharge at Inverness Sheriff Court on 18 December 2024.

Jackie 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.

“Up to date safety information provided by manufacturers of work equipment must be reviewed as part of this risk assessment process.  It is of crucial importance that safety information from manufacturers is highlighted to the workforce and rigorous monitoring is carried out to ensure that everyone is kept safe.”

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.

“My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

5. Further guidance can be found at: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – HSE

Grampian Health Board has been prosecuted after the death of a patient in Aberdeen.

Grampian Health Board, also referred to as NHS Grampian, pleaded guilty following the death of 40-year-old Vincent Mulsant at the Royal Cornhill Hospital on 28 March 2020.

The Board is responsible for commissioning health and care services for the residents in the local authority areas of Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

Mr Mulsant had been admitted to the hospital on 31 December 2019. He had managed to abscond from the ward in two separate incidents, on 19 and 22 February, which resulted in him being placed under constant supervision.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Grampian Health Board had failed to adequately manage the risks posed to a patient’s health and safety.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how on 28 March, two staff members found Mr Mulsant lying on the bathroom floor. Despite their efforts and those of paramedics in attendance, Mr Mulsant was pronounced dead at the scene.

As a result of this incident, changes have been made to the management of in-patient wards within Royal Cornhill Hospital.

On 8 August 2024, Grampian Health Board pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 3(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £60,000 with a £4,500 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case an HSE spokesperson said: “This tragic case highlights the need for suitable and sufficient systems to be put in place to ensure that vulnerable patients are kept safe while they are in hospital.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.

A multi-national food company has been fined more than £300,000 after one of its workers lost four fingers on his right hand while unblocking a machine at a site in Glasgow.

Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited received the fine following an incident at its factory in Hillington on 4 August 2021. The 39-year-old man was working on a mixer at the site, where dry seasoning blends and mixes are manufactured for the food industry.

During the mixing process the machine began to develop a blockage, which the worker attempted to clear by inserting his right hand into the machine. However, as he did so, it came into contact with the rotating blades which resulted in the amputation of four of his fingers. Since the incident, the man has had to re-learn how to do everything with his left hand.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) established that there were no fixed guards preventing access to the blades from the underside. It also found there were not any interlocked guards which would stop the rotating parts if any component on the underside of the mixer were to be removed.

Kerry Ingredients (UK) Limited of Bradley Road, Bristol pleaded guilty on 26 July 2024 to a contravention of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1988, Regulations 11(1) and (2) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act

1974, Section 33(1)(c). At a further hearing on 8 August 2024, the company was fined £360,000.

HSE principal inspector Hazel Dobb said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.

A company in Fife which grows and prepares vegetables has been fined £360,000 after a worker was dragged into a machine and lost consciousness.

Remigiusz Cyrek, a hygiene operative at Kettle Produce Limited, was undertaking a routine clean of a machine that makes carrot batons on 22 June 2018. The 37-year-old was trapped by a giant roller after being dragged into the machine at the company’s premises at Orkie Farm, in Freuchie.

Mr Cyrek had been cleaning part of the conveying machinery which had not been isolated from the power supply. The hood of his waterproof jacket became entangled in a moving power driven roller, causing it to tighten around his neck and resulting in him losing consciousness. The incident left the Polish national unable to work for six months afterwards.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Kettle Produce Limited had failed to provide a safe system of work for employees who were cleaning the machinery.  A safe system of work should ensure that cleaning activities are not carried out whilst the machinery was moving, and that all parts were isolated and locked-off  from the power supply.

HSE guidance on working safely with machinery is available.

Kettle Produce Limited, of Balmalcolm Farm, Cupar, Fife, pleaded guilty to breach Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £360,000 at Dundee Sheriff Court on 23 November 2023.

HSE inspector Kerry Cringan said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.

“While cleaning is an essential part of food processing, hygiene operatives should not be exposed to risks from unguarded moving parts.

“Companies should be aware that we will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Guidance on working safely with machinery is available.