Death of engineer crushed by shop lift was 'avoidable' as wife reveals she cries every night
21.07.2023 - 16:33
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
The death of an engineer who was crushed by a lift in a Perth supermarket "could have been avoided", a sheriff has ruled.
Kenny Heron, 51, died in hospital six days after the accident involving a scissor lift in a Co-op store in 2019.
The former British Army electrical engineer, who served in Bosnia, became trapped underneath the hydraulic lift while he was working on it.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry into his death found the engineer had not deployed adequate supports. It also identified that his employers, Wanzl, did not provide him with the correct equipment or check he had received adequate training.
Mr Heron had attended the Co-op store in October 2019 to service the scissor lift. He opened a hydraulic port on the lift while the platform above his head and shoulders was being supported by the hydraulic system.
The platform fell on Mr Heron who became tapped and suffered serious brain injuries. He died six days later at Ninewells Hospital.
In his report, Sheriff Derek Hamilton said neither safety locking devices nor external props, such as wooden blocks, were used to prevent the platform from lowering.
Sheriff Derek Hamilton said: "Sadly, this is a tragedy that could easily have been avoided".
Mr Heron was a newlywed at the time of the incident and left behind his heartbroken wife Sheryl Heron. The 41-year-old said she still cries herself to sleep nearly four years on from his death.
Sheryl, from Loanhead, near Edinburgh, said: “It’s been nearly four years since his passing and I cannot count the amount of times I’ve gone to bed crying then woke up crying. The only way I can cope each day is pretending Kenny is away for work and he’ll come back.
"It was our anniversary on June 30 so I took his urn to Oban – a place we always