A "negligent" firm based at a Scottish port has been fined £80,000 after it failed to protect an asbestos surveyor who was killed by a sudden electric shock from equipment that had not been marked as live.
Christopher Earley, 64, had been carrying out an inspection of a disused fabrication workshop at the Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth, north of Inverness, when he opened an electrical cabinet that unleashed an "electrical flashover" – a high-voltage arc discharge of electricity. The sudden electrical phenomenon gave him significant burns all over his body.
The incident occurred on December 10 2020, and despite the best efforts of medics to treat his grievous wounds Christopher died in hospital on March 10 2021. The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation and Global Energy Nigg Limited, which operates the port, has been held responsible for his death.
