An engineer was seriously injured when an inadequately supported refrigerator unit fell on to a scaffolding tower, causing him to fall 2.6 metres to the ground.
Aberdeen-based refrigeration services company Spark’s Mechanical Services Ltd was contracted to remove two ceiling-mounted refrigeration units at Iceberg Ltd’s fish processing factory in Fraserburgh on 19 October 2010.
Charles Howie was standing on a scaffolding tower removing one of the units by undoing the bolts that held it in place. He removed four of the eight bolts and was waiting for a forklift truck to arrive to hold the unit so he could remove the remaining bolts without the unit falling. But one of the bolts fractured, and the unit fell and struck the scaffold, catapulting Mr Howie off the structure. He fell 2.6 metres to the ground and suffered a collapsed lung and five fractured ribs. He was unable to return to work for five months.€
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No mention of Iceberg Ltd’s fish processing factory, interesting!