Covid-19 & Prosecution of employers
Coronavirus has dominated the headlines and amongst all this some commentators have speculated that employers may be about to face prosecution if they don’t take all Covid-19 precautions possible to protect staff and third parties from infection. Now it is correct to say that employers in the UK owe duties under the Health and Safety at Work…
Corona: An enjoyable beer or new legislation…
Coronavirus came upon the world as an unknown and everyone is now trying to ‘fight’ their way through what is COVID-19 and a severe pandemic. Unlike Corona beer which is rather enjoyable especially on a warm sunny day, the coronavirus is anything but a chilled afternoon sitting in the sun supping on your favourite beverage. It could…
Someone got injured – who’s to blame?
Where there’s blame there’s a claim, right? Sigh. In my day, if you fell down you got back up – you didn’t try to sue the tree whose stick you just tripped over. Times change – and there’s also this thing called common sense. If you have a company that uses dangerous machines, you have…
Property developer and foreman jailed for manslaughter
A property developer and a foreman have been jailed for manslaughter following the death of a carpenter on a site in Brighton. Michael Holland, 69 and foreman Grant Oakes, 46, had each denied charges of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the death. 55-year-old carpenter David Clark died on October 28, 2014, following an accident.…
The Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Act part 3
In part 1 and in part 2 we looked at The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act and how applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. Here we will explore the penalties and sentencing . As always, this is…
The Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Act part 2
In part 1 we looked at The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act and how applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. Here we will explore the role of senior management and individual liability. As always, this is for…
Breaking down the law: Corporate Manslaughter/ Homicide Part 1
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act applies to organisations which cause a person’s death or exhibit a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased. In this three part series, we will break down the law and how it applies to you, highlighting key issues and explaining the consequences. As…
Buchanan House fatality results in maximum jail term
The 57-year-old manager of an access plant hire firm has been sentenced to a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment for his neglect of health and safety obligations that led to the death of one man and caused serious injury to another. After a 16 day trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court, Donald Craig was found…
The Brexit impact part 1: Construction
Ferguson Legal has examined the impact Brexit is likely to have on various industry sectors such as construction; health and safety; procurement; sustainability and environment; employment and bribery and corruption. In part 1, we will look at the likely consequences for the Construction sector and what you can do to protect your company. No European…
Employee killed in trench collapse
A company has been fined £2.6 million after an employee was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed in on him. On the 14 April 2010, Mr Sim, a sub-contractor working on behalf of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited, was laying ducting for new cable for an offshore windfarm that was being built off…
A Stark Warning
I know we constantly bang on about health & safety at work but it is so essential for Company Directors to take personal responsibility to train and protect the safety of their workers…..as the consequences are devastating. Company Director Kenneth Thelwall, from Enfield, has been jailed for 12 months following the death of one of…
Barrier collapses on baby’s pram leads to fine.
On 23 September 2014 Construction firm Kier Construction Ltd was fined £4,000 for safety failings after a barrier was blown on top of a pram injuring an 18-week-old baby. The Company plead guilty to breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Stirling Sheriff Court heard that on 24 October…
Directors prosecuted for worker death failings.
The co- directors of a former London scaffolding firm have been prosecuted after a trainee worker fell to his death from a poorly constructed scaffold in Westminster. Sonny Holland, 20, from Orpington, sustained multiple head injuries in the six-metre fall at Whitehall Place on 24 April 2008. He died in hospital the following day. Sonny…
£200,000 fine for corporate manslaughter.
The building and joining firm, Peter Mawson Ltd, and its owner were sentenced on 3 February 2015 at Preston Crown Court, following an incident in 2011 where a man died after falling through a fragile roof. The emergency services attended West Cumberland Farmers LTD, Lindal, Ulverston, following a report that a man had fallen through…
CDM 2015 simplified.
With just under 50 days until the CDM Regulations 2015 potentially come into force and the CDM Regulations 2007 revoked, do you know what needs to happen between then and now? If a project is underway and will still be ongoing on 6 April 2015 it can carry on as is IF it will be…
Who will be Principal Designer?
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) make the role of CDM co-ordinator obsolete and introduce the principal designer (PD). The associated, draft guidance (L153) offers no scenarios describing who might be PD under different procurement models nor the skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capability that they require. We therefore don’t know who…
The Importance of Traffic Management.
On average, 7 workers are killed every year as a result of collisions with vehicles or mobile plant on construction sites. Approximately a further 90-100 are seriously injured. Workplace transport incidents are the second most common cause of serious and fatal incidents in the construction industry, yet they could easily be avoided by having proper plans…