First conviction under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Following the first conviction under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, it appears that the jury is still out on whether the Act will lead to more high profile convictions where gross negligence has resulted in death.

On 17 February, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Limited, the first company to be convicted under the 2007 Act, was ordered to pay a fine of £385k over the next 10 years, after an employee geologist died when an unsupported trench fell on him.

The 2007 Act came into force on 6 April 2008 and was designed to remove the need to identify a grossly negligent "controlling mind" in order for a company to be prosecuted for manslaughter. A company is guilty of an offence under the Act when a gross failure in the way in which its actions are managed or organised results in a person's death. Juries are required to look at how the relevant activity was managed throughout the organisation, albeit that a substantial part of any failure must have been at a senior level. A company found guilty under the Act will be liable to an unlimited fine as well as potential publicity and remedial orders.

In the case of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, however, the company was a small family business with a sole director who was not prosecuted personally due to ill health. It was not therefore materially different from the sort of company which would have been prosecuted successfully under the previous law. It would seem that the law will only genuinely be tested by a high profile accident involving a much larger corporate with a sizeable board of directors.

Until then, the most that can be said is that the publicity to which the case has given rise should at least provide an additional incentive for all companies to take health and safety compliance seriously.