Lion Steel Limited of Hyde, Greater Manchester is the third UK Company to be convicted of Corporate Manslaughter following an incident when one of their employees fell tragically to his death through a fragile roof in 2008. The company did plead guilty and their fine was reduced from £600,000 to £480,000.
Originally the three directors of the company had been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and failure under Section 37 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. The judge ruled that these latter charges should be dropped.
It was argued that Lion Steel Limited and its directors failed to provide an adequate safety system for working on the roof. The late Mr Berry had not been provided with adequate fall arrest equipment and crawling boards and had not received any training on roof work.
The jury was instructed to return a not guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge against one of the directors, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove their case against them.
Accidents of this nature happen too often in this day and age. At Hubbard Pegman & Whitney, Charlotte Pegman sees many seriously injured people who have been injured at work. It is an ongoing shame in this day and age that such poor provision is made for the safety of employees at work.
Charlotte Pegman, a specialist Personal Injury Solicitor, hopes that the publicity surrounding this case will lead other employers to look carefully at the risk assessments they are carrying out for their employees.
If you have been injured in an accident at work and need legal advice please do not hesitate to contact Charlotte Pegman, specialist Personal Injury Lawyer, at 020 8735 9776 or on email at cip@hpwsolicitors.co.uk.
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