Lawford Kidd's Blog

The skipper of a shellfish fishing boat has been sentenced for serious safety failings after the death of a diver in the River Forth Estuary.

Graeme Mackie was working as a scuba diver to collect shellfish from Ronald John MacNeil’s boat the “Rob Roy” when the incident occurred in June 2011.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard that Mr Mackie had entered the water for his first dive, around 600 metres south of Methil Harbour, but re-surfaced a minute later waving in obvious distress before disappearing again under the water.

A Glasgow-based construction firm has been fined following the death of a worker after he was crushed when a 1.6-tonne frame fell on him.

Daniel Hurley had been working with machinery near an area where the structural steelwork for a stair tower was being erected on the site. The Court heard that not long after the steel frame had been erected it began to tilt and fall towards Mr Hurley. Three of the anchor bolts that were supposed to support the structure came out of the ground, with the fourth being snapped in half.

Mr Hurley attempted to run away from the falling framework but was struck in the neck by the level of the structure. Despite receiving treatment at the scene, Mr Hurley died of his injuries.

St Mirren midfielder John McGinn is taking legal action against his former club following a training ground prank that saw him seriously injured.

The 20-year-old midfielder was spiked in the leg by a training pole after it was thrown at him at a training session at club’s training ground in April. McGinn fell over a training pole before the club captain Stephen Thompson threw another pole while he was on the floor.

As a result of the injury, McGinn was unable to play for the rest of the season and with his contract set to expire, was unable to try and win a new contract or a move to another club.

A property company based in Lancashire has been found guilty of exposing workers to dangerous conditions when working at heights.

Responding to complaints about the working conditions and the safety conditions for workers, the Health and Safety Executive sent officials to investigate the claims. The inspectors found workers stripping slates from a fragile roof without any measures in place to prevent a fall through it. The report from officials stated that the worker was in a life-threatening position and could have easily perished as a result of the lack of health and safety procedures.

As a result of the report and findings of inspectors KML (Properties) Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of Work at Height Regulations and was fined £10,400 as well as pleading guilty to other breaches of employment law.

Health and safety in the UK Aviation industry is to be the focus of a conference hosted by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health's (IOSH) later this month (2 July, Imperial War Museum, Duxford).

Following a number of major aviation incidents, such as the recent Germanwings plane crash, IOSH's Aviation and Aerospace Group plan to illustrate the best ways for Aviation workers/employees and bosses to prepare for and mange similar crisis'. IOSH also hope to improve industry continuity.