Roofer Seriously Injured After Bus Collides with MEWP

A ROOFER was seriously injured after a bus collided with a MEWP, Glasgow Sheriff Court has heard.

North Ayrshire based McTaggart Construction Limited was fined after the cherry picker the roofer was using was struck by a double-decker bus in Castlemilk, Glasgow.

On 4 February 2022, at a construction site on Ardencraig Road, the then 27-year-old roofer was in the raised basket of a cherry picker while repairing cladding. At about midday, a bus struck the cherry picker’s boom joint, which was jutting out over the roadway.

The force of the collision lifted the cherry picker onto its two rear wheels and caused its boom to strike a nearby lamp post.

Roofer Seriously Injured

The roofer, who was not secured or wearing a harness, was thrown out of the basket, falling 15 feet onto the roof of a parked car before hitting the pavement.

He suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis, hip and right wrist. He also sustained a collapsed lung and now suffers from PTSD.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that McTaggart Construction Limited, as the principal contractor, did not follow their own safety procedures and failed to ensure proper work at height planning or that proper PPE was used.

McTaggart Construction Limited pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was sentenced to pay a fine of £215,000.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Prosecutor, Debbie Carroll, said: “This was a serious incident that could have been avoided if McTaggart Construction Limited had put in place the appropriate planning and protective measures.

“Falls from height are usually the greatest single cause of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.

“Hopefully this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have serious and life-changing consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.”

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