East Lothian haulage firm fined £150k after driver killed by overhead power lines
Andrew Black Ltd pled guilty to failing to ensure there were suitable controls in place for work carried out near dangerous overhead powerlines
A haulage company has been fined £150,000 after a driver was electrocuted by overhead power lines.
Grant Borton, 25, an employee with Andrew Black Ltd, died while using the wash bay to clean his truck at the firm's Drem Airfield base in East Lothian, ahead of his next shift on December 31, 2021.
As he raised his truck's tipper, it made contact with the power lines.
The company admitted a charge under Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
It was found the company failed to ensure there were suitable controls in place for work carried out near overhead power lines between November 15, 2021 and January 5, 2022.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Andrew Black Ltd had failed to put effective safety measures in place, which resulted in Mr Borton's death.
There was a faded, illegible sign and a single A4 laminated sheet which warned of the electrical hazard.
It was also found the company had not risk-assessed the hazard of overhead power lines on site.
It faced in the opposite direction from the wash bay where the incident took place.
The court was told this did not meet regulatory requirements for warning sings in the workplace.
An HSE report suggested the company should have contacted ScottishPower to either have the lines buried, or put signage and road markings in place to form an exclusion zone.
Debbie Carrol, who leads on heath and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, 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."
Since the incident, Andrew Black Ltd has buried all overhead power lines on the site.