Health and Safety Legal Update. Laura Cameron

Transcription

1 Health and Safety Legal Update Laura Cameron

2 Introduction Corporate Manslaughter update Individual Responsibility Sentencing Guidelines Horizon Scanning

3 Health and Safety: Corporate Homicide Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007: An organisation is guilty if: the way in which its activities are managed or organised (a) causes a person's death, and (b) amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased Relatively few prosecutions in the UK, and none in Scotland so far.

4 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals 19 prosecutions brought under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 to date: 6 cases on-going; 11 convictions; 2 acquittals; All cases in England and Wales or Northern Ireland; No cases in Scotland to date; Some of the cases detailed in the following slides

5 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals - Concluded Cases Date Concluded February 2011 Company Individual Prosecuted? Was the individual convicted? Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Director gross negligence manslaughter and section 37 First ever prosecution/conviction for Corporate Manslaughter in the UK. Company fined 385,000 plus prosecution costs. Charges against director dropped. May 2012 JMW Farm Limited (Northern Ireland) No Company pled guilty to Corporate Manslaughter. Fine of 187,000 and costs of 13,000 July 2012 Lion Steel Equipment Limited 3 Directors gross negligence manslaughter and section 37 Charges against directors dropped in return for guilty plea for Corporate Manslaughter (2 of 3 directors previously successful in no case to answer submission re Manslaughter charge). 480,000 fine.

6 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals - Concluded Cases (cont d) Date Concluded October 2013 Company Individual Prosecuted? Was the individual convicted? J Murray & son Limited (Northern Ireland) Director gross negligence manslaughter Charges against director dropped in return for guilty plea to Corporate Manslaughter. 100,000 fine November 2013 Princes Sporting Club Limited Director section 37 Company pled guilty and charges dropped against individual. 34, fine plus 100,000 in costs donated by company owner. The first ever publicity order was imposed by the court December 2013 Mobile Sweepers (Reading) Limited Sole director gross negligence manslaughter and section 2 Company pleaded guilty to Corporate Manslaughter charge. Director pled guilty to offence under section 2. Company fined 8,000 plus 4,000 costs, and a publicity order issued. Director fined 183,000 plus 8,000 costs, and disqualified from directorship for five years.

7 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals - Concluded Cases (cont d) Date Concluded Company Individual Prosecuted? Was the individual convicted? April 2014 PS & JE Ward Limited No Company found not guilty of Corporate Manslaughter, guilty of an offence under section 2, following trial. Fined 50,000 plus 48,000 costs. May 2014 Cavendish Masonry Limited No Company guilty of Corporate Manslaughter following trial, pleaded guilty to a separate charge under section 2. Company fined 150,000 plus costs of 87, June 2014 MNS Mining Limited Mine manager gross negligence manslaughter Company found not guilty of Corporate Manslaughter following trial. Individual found not guilty of four counts of gross negligence manslaughter following trial.

8 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals - Concluded Cases (cont d) Date Concluded Company Individual Prosecuted? Was the individual convicted? November 2014 Sterecycle (Rotherham) Limited Maintenance Manager and 2 Operations Managers section 7 Company found guilty after trial, with accompanying charges under the 1974 Act withdrawn. Individuals found not guilty. The Company was fined 500,000. December 2014 A. Diamond and Son (Timber) Limited (Northern Ireland) No Company guilty of Corporate Manslaughter. Fines 75,000 payable over 5 years plus costs of 15,832. January 2015 Pyranha Mouldings Limited Technical Director convicted of two charges under section 37 Company guilty of Corporate Manslaughter; guilty of breaches under sections 2 & 6 of the HSWA. Company fined 200,000. Individual convicted of two charges under section 37 of the HSWA. Sentenced to prison sentence of 9 months suspended for 2 years and fined 25,000. Costs of 90,000 awarded jointly against both defendants.

9 Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals - Concluded Cases (cont d) Date Concluded Company Individual Prosecuted? Was the individual convicted? February 2015 Peter Mawson Ltd Yes Company guilty of Corporate Manslaughter (fined 200k); and of breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act (fined 20k). Owner sentenced to 8 months prison (suspended for 2 years); 200 hours unpaid work; a publicity order; and costs of 31, February 2015 G&J Crothers Limited (Northern Irish Company) No Company pled guilty to one health and safety breach. Fined 22,500 plus 1,500 costs

10 Date of Charge Corporate Manslaughter and Individuals Ongoing Cases Company Individual Prosecuted? Summary of proceedings to date September 2014 Baldwins Crane Hire Limited No Provisionally listed for trial at Preston Crown Court on 19 October October 2014 Huntley Mount Engineering Limited Director and supervisor charged with gross negligence manslaughter Provisionally listed for trial at Manchester Crown Court on 6 July November 2014 McGoldrick Enterprises Limited (Northern Ireland) No Provisionally listed for trial at Antrim Crown Court on 13 April 2015.

11 Individuals

12 Prosecution of Individuals Evidence that the HSE s enforcement policy is placing a greater emphasis on the prosecution of individuals. Prosecutions under s.37 HSWA increased by 400% in past 5 years. In practice, directors and senior managers are prosecuted in the UK each year.

13 H&S Consultant goes straight to Jail! Basement excavation in 2010 on a residential property in Fulham requiring underpinning of the supporting walls; Operative working in an unsupported trench when side wall collapsed and he was fatally crushed.

14 H&S Consultant goes straight to Jail! (cont d) Deceased employed by Siday Construction Limited; Richard Golding was an independent H&S consultant contracted to provide advice to Siday. Responsible for drafting method statement; Prosecution alleged that had Mr Golding inspected the site properly he would have identified both that the work was not being carried out in accordance with a safe system of work and that the excavations posed a clear risk.

15 H&S Consultant goes straight to Jail! (cont d) Siday s site manager convicted of gross negligence manslaughter: 3 years and 3 months imprisonment; Mr Golding convicted of s7 HSWA offence: 9 months immediate imprisonment; Sentencing Judge commented that Mr Golding s evidence at trial had been ludicrous and his failure to do anything when on site showed a level of disregard for safety that was staggering.

16 England & Wales New Guidelines

17 New Health & Safety and Corporate Manslaughter Sentencing Guidelines Sentencing Council s consultation on draft guideline for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter, food safety and hygiene offences. Consultation closed on18 February Existing guidance only covers offences committed by organisations rather than individuals. It only deals with fatalities. This marks the first time that guidelines will cover all the most commonly sentenced health and safety offences, and sentencing for individuals as well as organisations. The review of guidelines is taking place in part due to concerns that some sentences imposed for these offences have been too low, particularly in relation to large organisations convicted of the most serious health and safety offences.

18 New Health & Safety and Corporate Manslaughter Sentencing Guidelines (cont d) Headline Grabbers Fatal health and safety offences committed by Large Companies ( 50million + turnover) could carry fines of up to 10million!! Large Companies ( 50 million + turnover) found guilty of corporate manslaughter could face fines of up to 20million!!

19 The Proposed Approach Step one: Determine offence category: harm and culpability; Step two: Starting point is the company micro, small, medium or large (or very large) based on turnover; Step three: is proposed fine proportionate; Step four: consider other factors that might require adjustment e.g. impact on employees and service users; Plus others: including credit for guilty plea.

20 Horizon Scanning New CDM Regulations Consultation on Culpable Homicide New Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation

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