Builder killed by exploding foam filler can

A builder was killed instantly when a can of foam filler exploded in his hands and ruptured his heart, an inquiry has heard.

James Thomson, 26, was working for his father on a building site in Upperton, Shetland when the accident happened on 10 March 2007.

It is thought he was using a fan heater to warm up 15 cans of foam when one, which was two months past its use-by date, exploded.

Giving evidence at the inquiry this week, pathology lecturer Dr James Grieve said the impact of the can on Mr Thomson’s chest was “virtually unsurvivable”.

He said the can hit Mr Thomson with such force it left an indentation on his skin, despite the fact he was wearing a thick fleece, reported the Scotsman.

It also caused damage to his liver and pancreas and damage to a kidney.

Detective sergeant Lindsay Tulloch told the inquiry foam was all over the place when police arrived and that officers seized 15 cans of the filler that were in front of a fan heater.

A worker told police Mr Thompson had been in the process of warming the cans to make them easier to work.

His boss and father Dennis Thomson said he had never told his staff to heat the cans.