Scotland: Fatal Accident Inquiry

Matthew Peter Burden

Reference [2026] FAI 30 Published 16 June 2026 Sheriff Sheriff Christine P McCrossan Sheriffdom Grampian, Highland and Islands Date of death 6 February 2022 Location Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Forresterhill Road, Aberdeen Cause of death • 1 ( a ) : Head injury due to • 1 (b) Road traffic collision (driver). Section 28 responses identified 1 8-week deadline 11 August 2026

Recommendations

Recommendations (the sheriff's words)

(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is charged with the duty of checking the 7 day weather forecast as published on the Met office website in the 7 day period leading up to the date of shoots booked to take place on the estate, to include a record of all Police Scotland Weather Alerts issued in that same period; and to do so each day until the scheduled shoot in order that the estate has a working knowledge of the expected forecast for each shoot and can take timeous action to cancel or delay the start of a shoot in circumstances where it is not safe to proceed or for employees, staff or guests to travel due to adverse weather condition;

(ii) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is to be responsible on a weekly basis for ensuring that any employee having use of a company vehicle complete a form confirming any concerns with the condition of the vehicle;

(iii) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working to ensure that all employees while driving in the course of their employment use the seatbelts fitted to the vehicle.

Under section 28 of the 2016 Act, each recipient of a recommendation must respond within 8 weeks. The 8-week window is counted from the publication date. See how we track responses. Go to the section 28 responses.

Section 28 responses 1

Overall status, as assessed by this site: Response(s) published

East Tillypronie Sporting Estates Limited

· Source ↗

Response (the responding body's words)
1. East Tillypronie Sporting Estates Limited, being a body to whom a recommendation under section 26(1)(b) was addressed, do respond as follows.
2.
Recommendation 1
– In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:
(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is charged with the duty of checking the 7 day weather forecast as published on the Met office website in the 7 day period leading up to the date of shoots booked to take place on the estate, to include a record of all Police Scotland Weather Alerts issued in that same period; and to do so each day until the scheduled shoot in order that the estate has a working knowledge of the expected forecast for each shoot and can take timeous action to cancel or delay the start of a shoot in circumstances where it is not safe to proceed or for employees, staff or guests to travel due to adverse weather condition;
(ii)
Response 1
- We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 1 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.
3.
Recommendation 2
– In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:
(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working whereby the head gamekeeper or other senior member of staff is to be responsible on a weekly basis for ensuring that any employee having use of a company vehicle complete a form confirming any concerns with the condition of the vehicle;
(ii)
Response 2
- We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 2 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.
4.
Recommendation 3
– In terms of section 26(1)(b) of the 2016 Act and having regard to the matters set out in section 26(4) of the 2016 Act, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Burden, recommendations which might realistically prevent other deaths in similar circumstances are:
(i) Tillypronie Estate to introduce a system of working to ensure that all employees while driving in the course of their employment use the seatbelts fitted to the vehicle.
(ii)
Response 3
- We confirm for and on behalf of our client that Recommendation 3 has been fully accepted by our client and adopted by them and will form part of their working practices and systems of working, to include scheduled regular reviews.

About Fatal Accident Inquiries

Fatal Accident Inquiries are held under the 2016 Act before a sheriff. They are mandatory for deaths in custody and at work. The sheriff may make recommendations under s.26(1)(b); recipients must respond within 8 weeks under s.28. See the methodology page for detail.

Data: scotcourts.gov.uk.