News / Father sues own firm over son’s death
A BRAE father whose son died on a building site while working for his company is claiming £100,000 damages from the firm.
James Thomson was 26 when he died after a canister of expanding foam he was using exploded and struck him on the chest while at a job in the south mainland.
His 60 year old father Dennis is now suing Dennis Thomson Builders Ltd, on which he sits as a director, for compensation in a civil jury case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Mr Thomson told jurors that he did not think he would ever get over the death.
“We lived in the same village, worked in the same company. We saw each other every day. We did a few things socially together. We were both interested in sea angling,” he said.
He believed the longest he had gone without seeing his son during his life would be two weeks. “Family life will never be the same again,” said the builder.
His son’s wife was pregnant with her third child when the fatal accident occurred on March 10 in 2007 and gave birth five days later to a daughter. Mr Thomson said he and his wife saw as much of their grandchildren as they could.
Mr Thomson said his son had joined the firm at 19 after working in the catering industry.
He said on the day of the fatality they had two distinct jobs going on – one in the village where they lived and the other about 35 miles away. The father was working on the nearby project but left to drive down to the site where his son had been working.
He said he got about halfway when he received a phone call from his wife. The police had called at the house and explained there had been an accident and James was dead.
A post mortem was later held into the death in Aberdeen and a fatal accident inquiry later took place.
Mr Thomson was asked if the conclusion was that this was some sort of freak accident and replied: “I would say so, yes.”
The jury was told that the building firm being sued has admitted liability in the action.
Jurors will have to decide the level of compensation to be awarded to Mr Thomson for grief and sorrow and loss of society.
The case before Lord Stewart continues.
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