Steven Tervit, 32, was catapulted from a scissor lift at a specialist technology centre in Renfrew on November 9, 2023. He suffered a traumatic brain injury among other injuries and sadly died the following day
A Scottish company has been handed a £50,000 fine following the tragic death of a father who sustained fatal injuries after being thrown from a scissor lift.
Steven Tervit, 32, had been carrying out a dismantling operation at a specialist technology centre in Renfrew when the devastating incident occurred on 9 November 2023. The young father had been working at a height of approximately four metres on the scissor lift, removing wall panels from a cleanroom at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) at Westway Business Park, Porterfield Road.
The remaining panels collapsed and struck the platform. As they hit the warehouse floor, Mr Tervit was catapulted from the lift, landing on the concrete below.
He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where medics discovered he had sustained a traumatic brain injury, rib fractures, lung contusions and fractures to his right thigh bone and left shin bone. Tragically, he passed away in hospital the following day.
The cleanroom, which had previously housed a welding robot, was a steel-framed structure with walls and a roof built from polyurethane panels standing 6.1 metres tall. Mr Tervit’s employer, Food Process Engineering Limited, had been subcontracted to strip out the panels as part of the broader dismantling project, reports the Daily Record.
An inquiry by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the Hamilton-based firm failed to properly assess and manage the dangers linked to taking apart a structure it hadn’t originally put up. The wall panels, after the roof had been taken off, lacked sufficient lateral support to keep them structurally stable.
The watchdog discovered the company’s risk assessment and method statement didn’t properly address the danger of unexpected collapse caused by structural instability. While the firm’s own method statement stated ‘A-frame’ props or supports should be fitted where needed, no such props were on site or being used when the accident happened.
The company had conducted visual checks of the cleanroom’s exterior before starting work and went ahead assuming it had been built to industry standard. HSE determined this assumption was dangerous, as taking apart a structure erected by another party carried an inherent danger of hidden defects that could increase the likelihood of structural failure.
The company also failed to share its risk assessment and method statement with the staff doing the work – leaving workers on site inadequately informed about the dangers they faced. The firm was fined £50,000 after admitting it failed to provide a duty of care, safe equipment and proper training to its employee.
The firm was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £3,750 when the case was heard at Paisley Sheriff Court.
HSE inspector Amna Doherty said: “The failings of this company cost a much-loved husband, father and son his life. Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death and injury. There was a lack of planning in terms of the risk and those being tasked with the job were not aware of the dangers posed to them. We will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to protect their workers.”
