What happens if we get it wrong?

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What happens if we get it wrong?

• Barrie Hall
• Solicitor

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Transco - 15 MillionHatfield 13.5
millionCorporate Manslaughter Bill
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Overview

• Employer Duties
• Consequences of failure - injury / disease /
  fatality
• Costs - direct and indirect
• Dealing with an accident

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The Duties of an Employer

• Common Law duty to provide
• A safe place of work
• A safe system of work
• A safe plant and equipment
• Competent staff

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Statutory Duties

• Management of Health and Safety at Work
  Regulations 1992 ( updated 1999)
• Workplace ( Health Safety and Welfare )
  Regulations 1992
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment
  Regulations 1992 (updated 1998)
• contd...

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• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
• Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
• Health Safety (Display Screen Equipment)
  Regulations 1992

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Its gone wrong!

• Injury
• Disease
• - Asbestos related
• - Deafness
• - Vibration White Finger
• - Stress
• - Hazardous exposure
• Fatality

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Facts and Figures

• In 2003/04
• 236 fatal accidents
• over 30,000 major
• 130,000 injuries causing an absence of more than
  3 days absence from work.
• 2004/05- 220 fatal accidents

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Working at Height Regulations

• In force 6 April 2005
• Duty to ensure
• all work at height properly planned and organised
• those involved competent
• risks from work at height are assessed
• appropriate work equipment
• risks from fragile surfaces properly controlled
• equipment inspected and maintained.

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Counting the Cost

• Direct Costs
• 39 Million days lost due to accidents and
  workplace related illness every year,
• 9.9 million days are lost as a result of work
  relating to manual handling processes.
• Personal Injury Claims
• Fines

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Cost of Personal Injury Claim

• Damages
• Costs Conditional Fee Agreements
• Fixed fees Employers Liability (accident
  1/10/04)
• Fixed fees Disease claims (claim after October
  2004)
• Lost time to investigate, give witness
  statements, attend trial

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Fines

• 86 conviction rate (03/04)
• average fine
• Magistrates 7,000
• Crown Court 18,000

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Indirect Costs

• Claims culture
• HSE prosecutions - criminal record
• Business Reputation
• Loss of loyalty / morale

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Enforcement Website

• www.hse-databases.co.uk/prosecutions/
• Records for 5 years
• Trade Publicity
• Wider Publicity local and national

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Proactive

• Health and Safety standards
• Records, records, records
• Board Level commitment - personal liability
• Relationship with HSE
• Risk-based approach
• Records, records, records!

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Records, Records, Records

• Civil Procedure Rules
• Straight denial not any more
• Pre-action Disclosure Applications money for
  old rope
• Drafting -
• Alleges
• Who said what?To who?When?

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Reactive

• Pastoral
• Contemporaneous Investigation
• Remedy faults
• Co-worker care
• Co-operation with authorities
• Rehabilitation
• Back to work assessment

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RECORDS, RECORDS, RECORDS!

• Always turn up at trial
• Cannot be cross-examined
• Dont change their story over time

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Corporate Manslaughter

• Guilty of Corporate manslaughter if 
• The way in which the organisations activities
  managed or organised by its senior managers
• (a)     caused a death and
• (b)     amounts to a gross breach of duty
• Unlimited fine

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Relationship with HSE

• Lasts longer than the PACE interview
• www.corporateaccountability.org - enforcement
  policy

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RECORDS, RECORDS, RECORDS