A dad-of-four was tragically crushed by a falling hot tub that was dangling from a crane being operated by his son after concrete under the vehicle collapsed, an inquest has found.
The inquest at Avon Coroner's Court in Bristol found today (July 11) that the 2021 death of Michael Burcombe, 73, who had been in the crane business for 45 years, was an accident.
The dad, who had 45 years' experience as a crane operator when he was killed on September 31 2021, was agonisingly crushed to death when a hot tub that was being fitted to a property fell on him.
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He ran the family business, Burcombe Crane Hire Ltd, which was tasked with lifting the heavy hot tub over a customer’s house for it to later be installed.
An investigation found that the hot tub fell after the concrete underneath the crane had collapsed, causing the load to swing about and eventually come loose.
His son, Ashley, was operating the crane while his grandson, Ty Nethercott, was standing in as a signaller to show Ashley exactly where to move the hot tub.
Shockingly, Michael was heard shouting "lift it up, get me out" as his family used planks as levers to lift the hot tub off his body,the BBC reports.
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He lost consciousness shortly afterwards, and while emergency services quickly attended the horrific scene, the 73-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard that Michael had carried out a risk assessment five days before his death and determined that his smaller, lorry-mounted crane could safely lift the hot tub up.
On top of this, coroner Dr Peter Harrowing told the court that Mr Burcombe died from multiple injuries and that his death was accidental.
"Mr Burcombe could not have known the concrete was likely to give way. I have had no evidence to suggest he should have carried out a further, more detailed inspection of the concrete," he said.
"He could not, and neither could Ashley, have predicted that the concrete would fracture and give way when it did."
Ashley told the court that he has been winding his dad’s company up, vowing to never drive a crane again.
"My dad was the heart and soul of the business and we couldn't contemplate carrying on without him," he said.
His family described him as a "wonderful husband, father and grandfather", and said that he was proud that his company had never been involved in an accident in its 45-year-history.
"He was the life and soul of our family, he always had a story or a joke to tell with a cheeky smile on his face,” they said.
"He will be terribly missed by all of us and we will continue to celebrate his life as he would have wanted us to."
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