A fatal accident inquiry has found that the death of a Dundee stone worker was linked to prescription drugs he had been taking.
Scott Gunning, 32, died after the forklift truck he was operating overturned at the Denfind Stone quarry at Monikie, Angus.
In his determination after the inquiry, which was held in November at Arbroath Sheriff Court, Sheriff Norrie Stein noted that the level of the drug alprazolam present in Mr Gunning’s system at the time of his death could have contributed to the error of judgment that caused the accident.
The sheriff went on to recommend that “employers ensure that operators of heavy machinery are aware of the dangers of consuming certain prescription drugs”.
Mr Gunning, who lived in Ballater Place, Douglas, Dundee, with his long-term partner, Kelly Lindsay, and seven-year-old daughter Cody, died on October 2, 2007, after the forklift he was using to move stones overturned and crushed him to death.
In a letter to the Crown, Professor Derrick Pounder, who carried out the postmortem examination on Mr Gunning, said the consumption of alprazolam, which has the brand name Xanax, could have altered his ability to work.
Prof Pounder said: “The alprazolam concentration found in the deceased is consistent with a high therapeutic dose.
“This raises the possibility that the drug was a factor in the accident and death.
“This is a difficult assessment but, if the accident was primarily the result of an error of judgment by the deceased, then it is more likely than not that the presence of alprazolam has contributed to that error of judgment.”
In his determination, the sheriff said Mr Gunning had died of multiple injuries sustained by compression to the upper part of his body.
He also noted that “the evidence does not point to any reasonable precautions whereby the accident resulting in the death might have been avoided”.
“The court was left with the impression that there had indeed been a tragic error of judgment on Mr Gunning’s part in reversing too sharply from the loading bay to the production shed and driving over a sharp slope, thereby precipitating the accident,” he said.
Sheriff Stein concluded his determination by stating that there was no evidence that Denfind Stone could have known that Mr Gunning had taken the drug before working that day.