Health and Safety law News

Michael Vere-Hodge QC, instructed by Central Bedfordshire Council, successfully prosecuted registered charity and spiritual organisation Science of the Soul. In April 2014, a volunteer was using a scaffolding platform to inspect lighting at the organisation’s main UK site at Haynes Park. The volunteer tragically fell from the scaffolding sustaining fatal injury. Subsequent investigation revealed that the scaffolding tower was fundamentally unsafe and that the nominated supervisor was an elderly gentleman with poor eyesight who was...

On 18 May 2018 Sunyana Sharma secured the largest financial penalty for the Maritime Coastguard Agency ('MCA') against Sodexo Ltd in the sum of £300,000. The Defendant Company pleaded guilty for failing to operate a passenger vessel, 'Symphony' on the River Thames, with a valid Domestic Ship Safety Management Certificate for a period of 6 weeks. During this period, it had carried approximately 10,000 passengers. For an offence which was contrary to Regulations 6 and 10 of the Merchant Shipping (Domestic Passenger Ships)(Safety Management Code) Regulations...

3PB Barrister Nicholas Cotter has successfully demonstrated before Lincoln Crown Court that his client was not responsible for causing the actual deaths of three residents arising from a breach of Health and Safety (non-employees) in a care home. The Care Home had on advice admitted security and risk assessment failures linked to its care of the three residents and was fined £70,000.