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R v. Hall & Co. Ltd |
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Date |
1998 |
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Issue |
Risk
assessment, Breach of statutory duty |
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Court |
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
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Act, Regulation or Reference |
Health
and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s. 2(2) |
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Facts |
A fatal accident occurred in 1997 in the builders merchant yard in
Chichester, Sussex.
The accident occurred to a Mr. A Wilson who was
employed by Hall & Co. Ltd as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver and
a yardman. He was at his place of work in aisle
number one of the yard, when a lorry being driven by another HGV
driver, which Wilson had been helping to load, reversed into the
aisle and ran Wilson over. He sustained very serious injuries which
proved fatal.
The company was committed to the Crown Court at Chichester for
sentence, and it was sentenced to pay a fine of £150,000. It was
also ordered to pay approximately £4,600 towards the
costs of the prosecution. The company pleaded guilty to the offence
but sought leave to appeal against the level of fine imposed. This
was a renewed application for leave to appeal against the amount of
the fine, leave to appeal having been refused by the single judge.
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The Decision |
Counsel for Hall & Co made four particular points;
1. The fact that Hall & Co had pleaded guilty.
2. Counsel said that the company had a generally good safety record.
3. He pointed out that following the accident the company made a
full and prompt response, and in particular all its vehicles were
fitted with appropriate alarm systems.
4. Lastly, he submitted that there was in this case an absence of
any really serious aggravating features.
The court found that the combination of failures had resulted in an
obvious risk of danger to employees; that risk included the risk of
a fatal accident such as occurred here. The offence did
call for the imposition of a severe penalty. The court considered
that, in all the circumstances, the fine of £150,000, which was in
fact imposed, was a proper one, and that the application by the
company must therefore be refused.
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Note |
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Other cases of interest |
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External links |
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