CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER AND HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFENCES CAUSING DEATH

The first trial to be brought under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 will open in Bristol Crown Court on February 23 2010 and is expected to last six weeks involving Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd.

Definitive guidelines were published on February 9 to help courts deal with organisations that cause death through a gross breach of care, or where a health and safety offence is a significant cause of a death. These guidelines come into force retrospectively and applies to the sentencing of organisations on or after 15 February 2010. , so will influence the outcome of this prosecution.

If found guilty a organization could be given up to a seven-figure fine, (and rarely less than £500,000 according to the Definitive Sentencing Guidelines. The Council emphasised that "punitive and significant fines should be imposed both to deter and to reflect public concern at avoidable loss of life’ and that fines imposed ‘cannot and do not attempt to value a human life in money. Civil compensation will be payable separately, the assessment of level of compensation in cases of death will usually involve payment of sums well beyond the powers of a criminal court.

The fine is designed to punish the defendant and is therefore tailored not only to what it has done but also to its individual circumstances’ The new definitive guidelines also make it very clear that penalties for causing the death of a person under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide will include a compulsory publicity order to ensure organisations cannot hide their actions.

They may require publication (any or all of the following)
(a) The fact of conviction;
(b) Specified particulars of the offence;
(c) The amount of any fine;
(d) The terms of any remedial order

Various factors will be taken into account when sentencing, including

a) More than one death, or very grave personal injury in addition to a death;
(b) Failure to heed warnings or advice, whether from officials such as the Inspectorate, or by employees (especially health and safety representatives) or other persons, or to respond appropriately to ‘near misses’ arising in similar circumstances;
(c) Cost-cutting at the expense of safety;
(d) Deliberate failure to obtain or comply with relevant licences, at least where the process of licensing involves some degree of control, assessment or observation by independent authorities with a health and safety responsibility;
(e) Injury to vulnerable persons.

Definitive guidelines make it clear that penalties for causing the death of a person under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act will be extremely severe.