Worker awarded £4,000 compensation
07/09/2010
An employee at an Aberdeen building firm has received £4,000 after his boilersuit set on fire at work in an electrical explosion.
George Forbes, 62, of Aberdeen, was awarded the money at the end of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, which also saw Graeme W Cheyne (Builders) Ltd fined £9,000.
Mr Forbes was refurbishing flats on Holburn Street in November 2008 when he moved what he thought was a redundant electricity supply. It was, however, still live and connected to a 415 volt cable. Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that he was lucky not to have been electrocuted and to escape with only burns on his face and one hand.
An investigation by the HSE found that the cable was twisted , which created a short-circuit of enough energy to create the explosion.
The company, of Sugarhouse Lane, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work for employees working on or near an electrical system.
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