Partner Article

Corporate Manslaughter and bereaved families

With Watson Burton LLP Law Firm

On 6 April 2008 a new criminal offence of corporate manslaughter was introduced under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (“the Act”). Under the Act, a company or organisation will be guilty of corporate manslaughter if the way in which its activities are managed or organised, causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty owed by the organisation to that person.

The Act will result in a significant rise in the number of successful prosecutions against organisations as it removes the obstacle of identifying the “controlling mind” (i.e. a senior individual who can be said to have acted as the organisation) who has committed an act of gross negligence manslaughter. Prior to the enactment of the new offence, many high profile prosecutions brought against large organisations for gross negligence manslaughter had been unsuccessful because of difficulties in identifying the “controlling mind” in large organisations due to their complex corporate structure.

An organisation found guilty of corporate manslaughter will be subject to large financial penalties as the Court can impose an unlimited fine. In addition, the Court can order the organisation to take remedial measures to rectify the failures that resulted in the fatal accident and can impose a publicity order requiring the organisation to publicise details of the conviction.

Families who seek compensation are advised to bring proceedings in the Civil Courts as this is deemed the best place to assess complex claims for damages. The increase in successful prosecutions will in turn assist the bereaved family in claiming damages against organisations in the Civil Courts, as the conviction can be used as evidence in support of their claim.

The conviction will be used to satisfy the Civil Courts of the organisation’s liability in common law negligence. The conviction will have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the organisation owed the deceased a duty of care, which was breached and which resulted in his death and this will be accepted unless the contrary is proved. In other words, the legal burden, which is normally placed on the Claimant to prove the Defendant’s liability on the balance of probabilities, is reversed. The family will no longer have the burden of proving the organisation’s liability; the burden will be shifted to the organisation to prove it was not negligent.

If you have any queries relating to this article, or any other personal injury matter, please contact Louise Robinson at Watson Burton LLP via email at louise.robinson@watsonburton.com or by telephone on 0191 244 4452.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .