First corporate manslaughter case under new law gets under way
The first corporate manslaughter case to be brought under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 has opened at Bristol Crown Court.
Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings has been charged with the offence over the death of its employee, geologist Alex Wright, who died when a trench he was collecting samples from collapsed.The company is also charged with offences under the Health & Safety Act, while Company director Peter Eaton of Stroud has also been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Last month, the Sentencing Guidelines Council said that fines for organisations found guilty of corporate manslaughter may run to millions of pounds and “should seldom be below £500,000”. It added that fines from £100,000 up to hundreds of thousands of pounds should be imposed for other health and safety offences that cause death.
In its guideline, the Council advised that courts should take account of the financial circumstances of the offending organisation when deciding on the level of fine, although courts can bear in mind the effect on the employment of the innocent, as well as the impact on provision of services to the public.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council also said that publicity orders requiring offending organisations to publish statements about their conviction for corporate manslaughter, details of the offence and the fine “are part of the penalty and should be imposed in virtually all cases”.
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