Douglas Armstrong lay undiscovered for 52 hours because nobody realised he was missing – and now his family has called for tough new laws to prevent a similar tragedy.

They slammed those who run the sprawling Philiphaugh Estate near Selkirk where Mr Armstrong's body lay undiscovered for more than two days after being crushed when his quad bike overturned.

A fatal accident inquiry at Selkirk Sheriff Court heard that Mr Armstrong could well have survived his injuries if he could have summoned help right away, or if there had been a 'buddy system' to flag-up the fact that he was missing.

Last week Sheriff Jamie Gilmour published his findings of a Fatal Accident Inquiry held at Selkirk Sheriff Court into the circumstances surrounding the 53-year-old man's death in October 2004.

But despite ruling the accident and death could have been avoided, he declined to make any recommendations. He maintained that the advice publication Working Alone in Safety – produced by the Health and Safety Executive for the benefit of employers – provided adequate guidance on safe working arrangements for lone workers.

Philiphaugh Estate is in the hands of a trust and run by Sir William Strang Steel

Mr Armstrong's sister Karen Armstrong, who lives in Yorkshire, said: "We welcome the Sheriff's findings, but we need to find some way of enshrining them in law, to prevent another tragedy like Douglas' death.

"We want to see a legal requirement on the people who run big estates to issue their workers with mobile phones and put in place a buddy system to raise the alarm in an emergency."

She went on: "Some of the evidence at the inquiry was desperately harrowing and added to the anguish of Douglas' death which has had a devastating effect on the family and our parents who are in their eighties.

"One of the hardest things to bear is the evidence that Douglas could well have survived his injuries if he had remained still and been able to call for help.

"But because he had never been given a mobile phone he made a heroic attempt to reach help, which could only have made his injuries worse.

"And we have to live with the fact that nobody bothered to check if Douglas was alright, and it took them into the third day to even notice he was missing and start looking for him.

"People shouldn't be allowed to run big estates if they cannot look after their employees.

"It was only when the gamekeeper he was covering for returned from hospital and realised Douglas was missing that the alarm was raised.

"The Sheriff identified half a dozen things the Strang Steels could have done to prevent Douglas' death, and we need to ensure that they – and anyone who employs people in similar circumstances – put them into effect.