Death of farmer on Tiree was avoidable Suddenly, without warning, the tailgate descended, striking Mr MacCallum...

Sheriff says there are lessons to be learned

A sheriff in Oban has ruled that the death of a farmer on Tiree could have been avoided.

Allan MacCallum, 46, was crushed while working with a newly acquired baler machine, on August 18, 2018.

His son Sean and friend Alistair MacArthur were present when the accident took place.

Having just purchased the machinery 10 days previously, Mr MacCallum had been keen to start harvesting on the farm where he lived and worked as a self-employed labourer.

Mr MacCallum and Mr MacArthur began making checks on the baler only to discover that the connection hoses from the baler were not compatible with his tractor.

After finding and attaching suitable fittings for two of the hoses and ‘improvising’ an alternative type of connection on the third, which was the one used to operate the tailgate, Mr MacCallum leaned over the baler’s nearside wheel to look inside while Mr MacArthur proceeded to crawl into the baler to examine parts at close quarters. Suddenly, without warning, the tailgate descended, striking Mr MacCallum on the chest and pinning him to the floor of the baler.

Trapped inside, but unhurt, Mr MacArthur called for assistance and Sean MacCallum responded by using a tractor with a front loader to free his father. Despite lifesaving attempts, firstly by Mr MacArthur and then by paramedics, Mr MacCallum died at the scene.

A post-mortem concluded that compression of the chest had led to cardiac arrest and death.

The fatal accident enquiry found that the accident was caused by the failure of a reusable hydraulic fitting which caused the tailgate to drop. Had the baler’s hydraulic ram isolation valve been deployed it was likely that both the accident and resultant death could have been avoided.

The inquiry also determined that one of two warning labels highlighting the need to deploy the isolation valve when the tailgate was raised had become unreadable through erosion.

In his report, Sheriff Patrick Hughes said: ‘That isolation valve was found to be in working order after the accident. Had it been deployed neither the accident nor the death would have happened.

‘It is to be hoped that others working with similar machinery in future will learn the lessons of this tragedy and utilise fail-safe mechanisms in future.’

Sheriff Hughes also advised suppliers of agricultural machinery to send instruction manuals to customers via recorded delivery after it was noted that the baler arrived without one.