A catering company has been fined £40,000 after one of its workers was electrocuted as he carried out repairs to a dishwasher.
Moray Catering Equipment Ltd admitted failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of electrician Neil Grant, who died following an incident at Cafe Ecosse in Elgin’s High Street on July 20, 2009.
Last night the victim’s family said she no bore no ill will towards the firm or the cafe, describing it as “a sad and tragic situation”.
Mr Grant, who was 48, had left the machine turned on and was putting it through a wash cycle while he examined the wiring.
The former RAF electrician was crouched in front of the dishwasher when it started to bang and hiss with sparks flying from it.
A fellow worker saw him suffer an electric shock and paramedics were called.
They found him collapsed on the floor of the premises with no vital signs.
He was pronounced dead in hospital.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday that an investigation by police and Moray Council, and a Health and Safety Executive report by specialist electrical inspector John Madden, had identified failures by Moray Catering to adequately assess the risks to its employees when carrying out maintenance work and in particular live working.
The report also found the company had failed to ensure sufficient information, training and supervision of its employees, while risk assessments were too generic and relied on the person doing the job knowing about the safety aspects.
Representing Moray Catering yesterday, advocate Barry Smith said the company’s founder and director Graham Mutch had instructed him to offer “the sincere condolences of himself, his wife and fellow director, Carol, and indeed all the people involved in this small company to the family of Mr Grant” who were present in court.
Mr Smith said the firm had never had a “loss of time accident” in its 28-year history, and Mr Mutch was satisfied that Mr Grant was “necessarily qualified” when he hired him in 2000.
He added: “This company did have risk assessment policies in place – all but one of which they now realise were insufficient.”
Sentencing, Sheriff Susan Raeburn said: “It is a tragic case, and the court extends its condolences to Mr Grant’s family, friends and colleagues.
“I have conducted the balancing exercises and reached the view that the appropriate starting position is the sum of £60,000.”
The sum was reduced by one third to £40,000 due to the fact that Moray Catering had pled guilty to an amended charge, fully co-operated with investigations, made efforts to update its procedures and had no previous convictions for health and safety offences.
Speaking outside the court yesterday, Mr Grant’s daughter, Lindsay, 30, said she was relieved the six-year ordeal was finally over.
She said: “This was just a sad and tragic situation. I didn’t blame Moray Catering for what happened. I didn’t blame Cafe Ecosse. It was just an unexpected accident.
“Mr Mutch has been friends with my dad and our family for years ever since he was employed there.
“I’m just sorry it has all come to this. It was really shocking that they were being charged because, myself, I thought it was just a tragic accident. We all have them at some points and to have someone charged for it is just a sad situation.
“It has been six years since everything happened, and I would have liked it to have been cleared up long before now, but it was a very complex.
“It took time, but now I do wish everyone involved all the best.”
Family friend Frances Sutton added: “There are no winners in this situation.”
