Corporate manslaughter: What does the fourth UK conviction tell us?

A fourth UK company has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter in a case that provides further evidence that guilty pleas by the corporate entity are being used to avoid prosecution of individual directors.

J Murray and Sons, an animal feed manufacturer based in Northern Ireland, was convicted after Norman Porter, 47, died when he was pulled into a mixing machine. The company was sentenced to pay a £100,000 fine and prosecution costs of £10,000.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 creates a means of accountability for deaths caused by very serious management failings. Prosecutions are of the corporate body and not individuals, although individuals can still be prosecuted for separate health and safety offences.

In 2011, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings became the first company to be prosecuted under the legislation and was fined £385,000 after a trench collapsed, killing 27-year-old Alex Wright.

JMW Farms and Lion Steel were found guilty of the offence in 2012, receiving fines of £187,000 and £485,000 respectively.

In the cases of J Murray and Sons and Lion Steel, charges were also brought against directors at the firms but these were not proceeded with.

Of the four companies, three pleaded guilty to the charges; only Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was convicted following a trial.

The apparent enticement of a company entering a guilty plea is the likelihood that this will result in charges against the company’s director being dropped.

Even if the evidence against the corporate entity is not particularly strong, pleading guilty may be regarded as being worthwhile if the alternative is to risk personal liability or imprisonment of the company’s director.

It is also worth noting that the 2007 Act was originally constructed to overcome the difficulty in finding an individual within the company who could be held accountable, particularly within companies with complex management structures.

Prosecutions to date have been of smaller, owner managed companies and none of the fines imposed have so far reached the lower threshold of £500,000 outlined by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. It remains to be seen how the Act will address the prosecution of larger companies.

Clearly, it is best to address any risks at the earliest possible stage to avoid prosecution altogether.

If you require further information on complying with health and safety laws, or any other regulatory legal matter, contact David Edwards on 01772 258321 or David.Edwards@harrison-drury.com