Fatal Crash During Storm Could Have Been Avoided
The death of Matthew Burden, a 36-year-old gamekeeper who crashed during a storm in Aberdeenshire, has been ruled potentially avoidable by a sheriff following a fatal accident inquiry (FAI).
Burden died in hospital after the incident on the Tarland to Tillypronie road on 29 January 2022. He sustained a head injury after being thrown from an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that crashed amid high winds caused by Storm Malik.
Sheriff Christine McCrossan determined that the fatal crash could have been prevented if the shoot had been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions prior to Burden setting off. Additionally, the sheriff noted that wearing a seat belt might have averted the fatal injury.
On the day of the accident, an amber adverse weather warning for high winds was in effect for eastern Scotland. Local conditions were described as featuring howling winds and rattling windows.
That morning, Burden's ATV was found against a drystone wall, and he was discovered lying unconscious on the road. He was transported to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but passed away on 6 February 2022.
"I am satisfied that the weather was most extreme,"
the sheriff said in her determination.
"It was a storm."
She added that Burden had been operating the ATV in very high winds and that cancelling the shoot would have been a reasonable precaution.
'Lack of Effective Monitoring'
Sheriff McCrossan also highlighted that the use of a restraining seat belt by Burden could realistically have prevented his death by stopping him from being ejected from the vehicle and sustaining the fatal head injury.
She stated that if the shoot had been cancelled, Burden would not have been on the road at that time, making seat belt use irrelevant in that scenario.
The sheriff observed a lack of effective monitoring of weather conditions and noted that Burden's employer, Tillypronie Estate, did not require the use of seat belts while driving during employment.
She recommended implementing a system whereby a senior staff member reviews the seven-day weather forecast leading up to scheduled shoots on the estate. She also advised enforcing the use of seat belts in vehicles.
She offered her "sincerest condolences" to the loved ones of the gamekeeper for their loss.
