Case histories
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With one company successfully prosecuted and another charged, it is clear that the HSE and the police are now much more likely to invoke corporate manslaughter legislation where there has been a work fatality.
Most recently, a steel company has been charged with corporate manslaughter following the death of an employee who fell through a roof. Three of the company directors have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter for failing to ensure the safety of their employees at work. The company has also been charged under health and safety legislation for failing to ensure the safety of its employees.
In the first successful prosecution earlier this year, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was fined £385,000, to be paid over 10 years. The case followed the death of an employee in 2008 who was buried in a trial pit while taking soil samples. The prosecution said Cotswold had failed to take all reasonably practical steps to protect the employee from an unsafe system of work, ignoring well-recognised industry guidance and leaving the employee unsupervised on site. The MD was prosecuted for gross negligence but was found unfit, through stress, to stand trial.
The fine represented 250% of Cotswold’s turnover at the time of the trial (100% of turnover at the time of the accident). The judge said that although it was not his intention to put the company out of business, if that was the effect, it would be an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence. The judgment makes the case particularly relevant to the haulage industry, where many small companies could be put out of business if they found themselves in the same situation.