The former employee, Michael Thomson, sustained burns to 30% of his body following an incident where a faulty valve caused 10,000 litres of 104 centigrade liquid to engulf him.
According to reporting by the Northern Scot, Thomson, who worked for Diageo at their Glenlossie Distillery near Elgin, spent two weeks in intensive care and a period in an induced coma following the incident on 24 March 2021.
Thomson suffered injuries to his shoulders, arms, legs and body and was off work for six months, before retiring a year later.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shut down certain operations at the distillery in the immediate aftermath while work to repair the faulty valve took place.
During a hearing at Inverness Sheriff Court, Diageo pleaded guilty to failing to take the necessary steps to ensure that work equipment was safely built and adapted, along with other failures.
The manufacturer, which owns brands such as Guinness and Johnnie Walker, was fined £537,500.
David Glancy, fiscal depute for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said that no individual was to blame for the incident and explained that the valve had been fitted incorrectly.
“[The valve] showed that the pump was closed when it was open,” added Glancy.
“The valves on the pump were checked that they were closed but it was not noticed one had been incorrectly fitted. Mr Thomson began to remove bolts from the pump to replace the seal and there was a sudden release of 104 degrees liquid, the volume and force of which knocked him over.”
Meanwhile, a Diageo spokesperson told Food Manufacture: “The health and safety of our people is our number one priority, and we regret that this incident caused injury to a colleague.
“Following an extensive investigation we have implemented an improved procedure for isolations and the learning from this incident has been cascaded out to the wider business.”
