The boss of an Aberdeen plumbing company was recently acquitted following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive. Steven Anderson faced the charges following a fatal accident at work of one of their apprentices, Michael Scott. The Health and Safety executive brought a prosecution against Mr Anderson for putting staff at risk of serious injury, a charge on which he was eventually acquitted.

The youngster, who was 18 year old at the time, died when a pile of MDF sheets fell on him while working alone with APH services at Aberdeen harbour in December 2006.

The sheriff hearing the trial said it was a “truly tragic case”. Mr Anderson, had requested Mr Scott carry out the task, he was doing at the time of the accident, by text message. It was Mr Anderson that found Mr Scott after the accident. He had to call on another apprentice to help lift the sheets from Mr Scott.

It was alleged that there were 20 sheets of MDF weighing over 500kg stored in the ground floor corridor of the companies premises. Mr Anderson had sent a text to Mr Scott asking him to carry out the task of cleaning up the premises. Unfortunately, shortly following his admission to hospital, Mr Scott died from his injuries. The cause of death was traumatic asphyxia.

If you have been injured in an accident at work in the last three years, which was not your fault you may be able to claim compensation. Call our specialist claims team on 0800 0891331 and  we can help you pursue a claim for compensation on a No Win No Fee basis.