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…
Scottish Environmental Issues…
Are you involved in, or affected by, environmental issues? Do you have opinions on the way environmental cases are currently dealt with? Then the Scottish Government is seeking your views. They are asking how effective environment cases (both civil and criminal) are being dealt with by the current Scottish court system. The results of the…
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…
The Future of H&S sentencing in Scotland?
It will be interesting to see whether the recent fine of £5 million on the operator of Alton Towers has any influence on the future approach to be taken by Scottish courts in health and safety sentencing. Following an accident that took place at a power station in Fife where their employee suffered scalding after…
Worker Crushed between two vehicles
Leedale Limited, a waste management and plant hire company in Derbyshire, was fined £300,000 after a worker was fatally crushed between two vehicles. Derby Crown Court heard how 39-year-old Matthew Lambert was refuelling his road sweeper at the Company’s yard. The refuelling point on the vehicle was at the rear; whilst he was refuelling a tipper…
Toxic gas release… not a case of who ate all the sprouts…
A food waste disposal and recycling firm has been fined £250,000 following three employees becoming overcome by toxic gases (including hydrogen sulphide) and a reduced oxygen atmosphere whilst working in an animal waste facility. This prosecution comes 12 months after the firm was fined £660,000 following the death of an employee. The previous conviction resulted after a fatality…
Three years to reach minimum standards + gambling with peoples’ lives = £1.8 million
This is a mathematical equation that adds up to one serious fine, but is believed is the only way to make companies sit up and pay attention that you cannot gamble with peoples’ health and wellbeing. The latest in the firing line is G4S receiving one extremely hefty fine after failing to reduce the risk…
Gold, silver, bronze and green?
Get ready, set, hold on a minute the water is green? What really did happen the pools in Rio? After offering little clarity about why the water in two Olympic competition pools mysteriously turned green, Rio 2016 officials have said it was because a a contractor poured hydrogen peroxide into the diving well and the large pool in the centre. The…
The Million Pound Drop
Unfortunately this article is not about the Channel 4 BAFTA-winning game show hosted by Davina McCall, this is about the incident of Thames Water who earlier in the year were ordered to pay out a whopping, record breaking £1 million after polluting a canal in Hertfordshire. This is the highest ever fine for a water…
Time to Clean Up Your Act?
I will do it tomorrow, It is only a little mess, they won’t do anything Sound familiar? These little messes can turn into one big nasty one as Oran Environmental Solutions found out. They got issued the highest penalty ever in Scotland for environmental offences for waste offences. The penalty was imposed on Oran Environmental…
UK Offshore Safety Directive Regulator.
The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department for the Environment and Climate Change (DECC), working in partnership, now form the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator (OSDR). OSDR will act as the competent authority responsible for overseeing industry compliance with the EU Offshore Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations. The…
Corporate manslaughter conviction.
Waste management company, Sterecycle (Rotherham) Limited, was found guilty of corporate manslaughter and fined £500,000 following the death of an employee. This incident occurred at the company’s plant in South Yorkshire in January 2011. In October 2012, Sterecycle ceased operations after having been placed into administration. It is uncertain how much of the £500,000 fine will be…
Pharmaceutical company fined £100,000 after man sprayed by toxic chemical.
A North East pharmaceutical company were fined on 20 September 2014 for a serious safety breach which left a worker fighting for his life in hospital. The employee, from Tyne and Wear, was sprayed with seven litres of bromine as he removed cables from a valve connected to pipework at Aesica Pharmaceuticals on the Windmill Industrial Estate,…
Lack of guarding leads to serious consequences.
An Ayrshire waste recycling firm has been fined £118,000 on 6 October 2014 for serious safety failings after an agency worker severed his left arm at the shoulder while clearing a conveyor belt blockage. Steven Dawson, then aged 28, was working as a line supervisor for Lowmac Alloys Ltd at its premises on the Oldhall…
Right to Light?
The Law Commission published its recommendations and draft Right to Light (Injunctions) Bill on 4 December 2014. The intention is to demystify the confusing mix of old statute and case law and to reduce the scope and length of disputes. Key recommendations include: a new notice procedure by which a developer could require neighbouring landowners to inform them, within a…