A German-based construction company has been fined £226,000 after one of its workers was crushed to death in September 2008.
Czech national, Ondrej Hladik, 46, was contracted to work on the Hochtief Construction AG site near Fort Augustus where a new dam and turbine station were being built.
Although there were no witnesses to the tragic incident, it is thought that Mr Hladik was leaning out of the forklift truck to either clean the mirror glass or to fix the window wiper blade, causing him to put pressure on the joystick and to consequently lower the telescopic arm.
Hochtief Construction AG pleaded guilty at Inverness Sheriff Court to failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of those working on their site, as required by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The forklift truck used by Mr Hladik was poorly maintained and had a number of defects, most significantly, a large window missing from the cab of the truck. Had it been in place, it would have prevented the handler's body from being exposed to risk of being struck by the telescopic arm.
It was also revealed in court that Mr Hladik was not registered on the Construction Plant Certification Scheme (CPSC), a requirement for those driving forklift trucks.
Elaine Taylor, Head of the Health and Safety Division, said: "Hochtief did not have in place a system to ensure that its plant was adequately inspected and maintained and this resulted in a vehicle being used on site when it was in an appalling condition. Mr Hladik's death was entirely avoidable had Hochtief complied with health and safety legislation."
