A quarry worker was crushed to death when his colleague accidentally touched a joystick in a digger, causing its boom and dipper arm to move and strike him, an inquiry has heard.
Pawel Kocik, 34, was fatally wounded at Leiths (Scotland) Ltd’s Kishorn Quarry, near Lochcarron in Wester Ross on May 17 2017.
He had been helping a colleague with the setup of a rock crusher that required the rear and side panels of its feed hopper to be lifted and fixed into place.
But Mr Kocik was struck on the body by the quick hitch attached to the dipper arm of an excavator operated by his coworker, crushing him against the nearside feeder panel.
He died from chest and abdominal injuries, a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) was told.
It found the cause of the accident was “inadvertent contact” by the excavator operator with the left-hand control joystick of the excavator at a time “when the safety control lever was not engaged”.
The report said that resulted in the “unintentional movement” of the boom and dipper arm which then struck Mr Kocik.
In his determination, Sheriff Gary Aitken found that the death of the Polish national “might have been avoided” with precautions.
He concluded that there had been a “breakdown in communication” between the deceased and his colleague, the operator of the digger.
Sheriff Aitken also determined that had they “taken the opportunity to discuss the task in advance it may have prevented the need for them to communicate with each other during the task itself”.
‘Breakdown in communication’
He explained: “There was a breakdown in communication between them which [the operator] tried to resolve by moving within the cab of the excavator he was controlling.
“In doing so he inadvertently came into contact with one of the control joysticks of the machine, causing the boom arm to move, striking Mr Kocik, as a result of which he stumbled into the feed hopper of the crusher, sustaining injuries which sadly proved fatal, despite prompt medical assistance.”
The sheriff also said that a “clearer instruction” for carrying out the task, with “associated training for operators” could and should have ensured that the safety control leaver was used to isolate and lock the excavator controls.
Deadly task was ‘not necessary’
His report noted that the task that Mr Kocik was carrying out was not necessary.
Sheriff Aitken explained: “Leiths have now modified both of the two mobile crushers owned by them which required hopper sides to be lowered for transport so that the sides are now fixed in place yet the machine can still be transported by road.
“This modification will remove the need in the future for any of Leiths employees to carry out the operation Mr Kocik was engaged in.”
The 34-year-old father-of-one left behind a wife and their daughter who was just six years old at the time of the tragedy.
In his closing remarks, Sheriff Aitken expressed his condolences to the family and friends of Mr Kocik.
“He was a young family man who was clearly very well thought of by his employers and colleagues,” he said.
“His untimely death is no doubt still keenly felt by his family.”
Health and safety breaches
A previous investigation into Pawel Kocik’s horrific death exposed a number of health and safety breaches at the Highland quarry.
But Inverness Sheriff Court was told that none of the firm’s shortcomings caused the Leiths worker’s death.
However, the Aberdeen-based firm has already pled guilty to a charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees.
Bosses admitted failing to make a suitable assessment of the risks and failing to provide the necessary information, instruction and training as well as failing to provide appropriate equipment.
The quarrying and construction company was fined £130,000 in October last year.
A lawyer representing the firm at the time apologised unreservedly for exposing Mr Kocik to an unacceptable level of risk during the plant assembly task.
Commenting on the FAI’s report, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokesperson said that action was being taken.
They explained: “We are carefully considering the issues raised in this report and already talking to the industry about safety improvements.
“Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and everyone involved in this terrible incident.”