A construction company has been fined £600,000 over the death of a workman who was struck by a dump truck.
Vincent Ramsay, 55, was killed at a former tram depot in Leith, Edinburgh in 2016, when a dumper truck ran over him at the bottom of a dirt ramp leading into an underground car park.
The father-of four had been crouching down to spray markings when he was hit.
London-based Allenbuild Ltd plead guilty to health and safety offences at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and on 1 February 2019 were fined.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen said the purpose of the £600,000 fine was to bring home to both management and shareholders the need to comply with health and safety legislation.
He said: “It is not to put a value on a human life and that is not what the court is doing. It is punishing the company”.
The incident took place at a former bus and tram depot in Leith known as Shrubhill.
Allenbuild Ltd had been developing the site for housing and the accident occurred at the bottom of a dirt ramp leading to an underground car park.
The court heard that the truck, which was carrying excavated earth, had stopped to allow other vehicles to manoeuvre. But due to restricted visibility caused by the skip and its load, the driver then ran over Mr Ramsay when he moved off.
Sheriff McFadyen said the company should have recognised there were instances where site personnel had to access the underground car park on or near routes used by vehicles.
He said the firm should have taken to measures to ensure that they were not at risk of being struck and ensured work in that area was better scheduled.
He accepted that the company had been in business for more than 70 years, had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. This led to him slightly reducing the size of the fine.
He concluded by expressing his own condolences and sympathy to Mr Ramsay’s family.
