Falling bourbon barrel sparks fractured skull trauma
The worker – William ‘Dougald’ Sim, then aged 60 – needed 14 stitches to treat fractures to his skull and vertebrae alongside leg injuries.
His employer, Aberlour-based haulage firm McPherson Ltd, was guilty of serious safety failings, Elgin Sheriff Court was told during a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The accident happened at the firm’s Speyside Cooperage on January 14 2013, as Sim unloaded empty bourbon casks to be repaired at the site. On the day of the accident, Sim had driven the three-level vehicle, loaded with 210 barrels, from the company’s Fisherton Garage depot in Aberlour to the cooperage.
After parking alongside the slope of the unloading bay, a landing cushion was placed at the rear of the lorry to catch barrels if they fell. But no restraints, other than wooden chocks, were used to prevent the barrels falling from the lorry’s third tier.
Knocking him to the ground
Immediately before the accident, a colleague opened the vehicle’s right door and, walking backwards, pulled the door around and secured it to the side of the vehicle. Sim started to do the same on the left side, but after the door had opened by about a foot, one of the bourbon casks, weighing more than 40kg, fell from the top level striking him on the head and knocking him to the ground.
The worker received treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and had to wear a neck brace for six months and, subsequently, a soft neck collar.
The neurologist advised Sim he was lucky to be alive, as the impact of the barrel broke the top neck vertebrae, which can affect the respiratory system. Unable to work until mid-October 2013, he gradually began light duties.
The HSE investigation revealed McPherson Ltd had failed to ensure a safe system was in place to secure loads on all third tiers of vehicles.
The van involved in the accident carried 210 empty bourbon casks, with 80 on the bottom deck, 80 on the second tier, with the remaining 50 loaded on top of the casks on the second deck. These 50 casks were ‘secured’ by wooden chocks placed at the front of the casks but without a safety bar or other protective measures.
Entirely avoidable
Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Niall Miller, said the accident was entirely avoidable.
“Objects falling from height remain one of the most common reasons for injuries and even fatalities at work, and it is extremely fortunate that Mr Sim survived,” said Miller.
“McPherson Ltd should have put systems in place to make sure cargo carried at high levels in its fleet of lorries is securely held, and during loading and unloading.
“Mr Sim still suffers a constant dull pain in his neck and head and gets dizzy if he moves too fast.”
McPherson Limited, of Aberlour, Moray, was fined £8,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 10(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The HSE said unsafe loads on vehicles injure more than 1,200 people a year and cost UK businesses millions of pounds in damaged goods. Read HSE advice on load safety here.
