Building firm fined £215,000 after man fell from cherry picker

A construction company has been fined £215,000 after a roofer was thrown from a cherry picker when it was hit by a double decker bus in Glasgow.

The worker fell on a parked car and then on the pavement in the incident in Castlemilk on 4 February, 2022.

He was left with serious and permanent injuries.

McTaggart Construction Limited pleaded guilty to a breach of construction regulations and health and safety legislation at an earlier hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The North Ayrshire company admitted it failed to take steps to ensure the safety of workers on the mobile elevating work platform – known as a cherry picker.

Prosecutors said the roofer and cherry picker operator were in the basket of the vehicle, which was raised to repair cladding at a site on Ardencraig Road.

A double-deckerFirst bus struck the “knuckle” of the cherry picker, which was protruding over the road.

The force of the collision momentarily lifted the cherry picker on to its two rear wheels and caused it to strike a nearby lamppost.

The roofer, who was not secured in the basket, was thrown from it and fell, while the operator managed to remain within the basket.

The court heard the roofer, then aged 27, suffered “life changing” injuries including extensive fractures to his pelvis and right hip.

He also sustained a collapsed left lung and a fractured right wrist which left him in a cast.

Prosecutors said a Health and Safety Executive investigation found McTaggart Construction had failed to ensure the work being carried out was properly planned and that personal protective equipment was used.

There were also no suitable measures in place to segregate the cherry picker from traffic, the Crown Office said.

Following the incident, the company overhauled its processes and policies.

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Falls from height are usually the greatest single cause of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.

“Hopefully, this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have serious and life-changing consequences and that they employers for their failings.”