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Scottish firm fined £80k after fatal electrical explosion
CM Staff
A Scottish firm has been fined £80,000 after a man died following an electrical explosion due to poorly maintained apparatus.
CWE Asbestos Consultants director Christopher Wayne Earley, 64, was carrying out an asbestos survey on 10 December 2020.
He was inspecting an electric panel for Global Energy Nigg at its Shop 7 premises at Nigg Energy Park, in the Cromarty Firth, when the electrical explosion happened.
A third of Earley’s body was burned including his face, right arm, right side of his chest and left hand.
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Three months later Earley, a father of four, died following multiple infections and sepsis complications brought on by his injuries.
Global Energy Nigg of Henderson Road, Inverness, Highland, pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Health and Safety Act. The company was fined £80,000 at Tain Sheriff Court on 18 January.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Niall Miller said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.”
The remains of the end of the busbar after the explosion (Image courtesy of HSE)
The HSE investigation discovered the switch room Earley was surveying was not in an appropriate condition.
Investigators said this created a risk as the live switch panels did not have a warning label indicating they were energised with electricity running through them.
There was also no warning of electrical danger at the internal doorway between Shop 7 and the switch room, and the internal door itself was missing.
Investigators determined that this failure to maintain the switch room was the underlying cause of the incident, and the primary duty of care belonged to Global Energy Nigg Limited.
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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