Findings Announced In First Fatal Accident Inquiry To Be Re-Opened Twice

The findings of a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of a woman who died after falling down a mineshaft in East Ayrshire have been announced. The Inquiry made Scottish legal history when it became the first Inquiry to be re-opened twice to hear fresh evidence.

Margaret Allison Hume fell 40ft into a disused mineshaft in Galston in 2008 while taking a shortcut on her walk home. Emergency services were called to the scene at around 2.15am but she lay injured for almost six hours before being freed after health and safety rules had delayed a rescue. Mrs Hume then suffered a heart attack upon being brought to the surface and subsequently died in hospital.

The Inquiry held at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court under Sheriff Leslie, found that the death of Mrs Hume could have been avoided had certain reasonable precautions been taken by the emergency services involved. These included early identification, by the Police and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Services, of the stability of the mine shaft and surrounding area and having a thorough knowledge and understanding of the capability and properties of the line rescue equipment used.

The Fatal Accident Inquiry also made Scottish legal history when it became the first Inquiry to be re-opened twice. The Inquiry was originally adjourned in March 2010 after Sheriff Leslie finished hearing evidence but was re-opened to hear further evidence in the August of that year after a retired fireman contacted Sheriff Leslie about the safety rules in question and requested that his input be considered. The Inquiry was then re-opened for a second time in February 2011 to hear evidence from a leading member of the Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation who had...