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On 22 February 2023, FDS Waste Services (“FDS”) and company director, Philip Pidgley, were sentenced, respectively, to a £640,000 fine and six months suspended prison sentence, following their convictions for corporate manslaughter and offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974 (HSWA).
As noted in our Health and Safety Quarterly Update Q1 2022, charges were brought against the two defendants following the death of employee, Yamal Ameggaron Mohamed, in December 2018. Mr Mohamed, whilst engaged in the sorting of recycling materials, was struck by a reversing wheeled loader vehicle and subsequently died of his catastrophic injuries. FDS were also charged (and convicted) in relation to a further incident, two years later, when another employee suffered broken ribs and associated injuries after becoming trapped in a mechanical conveyor after he had climbed in to remove a blockage.
The company was subject to a joint investigation by Dorset Police’s major crime investigation team and the Health and Safety Executive. The investigation uncovered significant failings by the company to put in place sufficient working practices to safeguard employees. It also found the company failed to provide its employees with adequate training and supervision to prevent such accidents arising. The management of the site was described as “lax and complacent”, and this had ultimately led to unsafe working practices at the company’s base.
Corporate manslaughter is an offence created by section 1 of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. It came into force on 6th April 2008 and was designed to hold companies and other organisations accountable for serious failings resulting in death. The offence can be punished with an unlimited fine, with the sentencing guidelines providing a fine range of £180,000 to £20 million. If a business is defined as a ‘Very large organisation’ the court can move outside of the suggested range “to achieve a proportionate sentence”.
As discussed previously here, whilst the offence of corporate manslaughter is a useful tool in the prosecution’s armour, it is often difficult to prove due to the lack of causation and/or the way senior management organised/managed it activities cannot be shown to be a substantial element of the gross breach. However, that is not to say that company directors need not heed the warning raised by this case. Clearly corporate manslaughter prosecutions can succeed. Businesses and organisations who find themselves accused of gross breaches following a fatal accident will no doubt have difficult decisions to make. Do they risk a trial and the associated costs involved? Or do they plead guilty early and suffer a significant fine but benefit from the early guilty plea discount?
Either way, the most effective way a business can protect its staff, and itself, is by making the management of health and safety a priority. Health and safety should sit at the heart of organisational risk management and it should be fully integrated with key business decisions. Members of the board have both collective and individual responsibility for getting it right. As this tragic case shows, when it goes wrong, the consequences can be devastating.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions about the content covered in this blog, please contact Melinka Berridge, Sophie Wood or any member of our corporate manslaughter and health and safety team.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Melinka Berridge is a Partner at Kingsley Napley. She has particular expertise in the fields of health & safety, regulatory enforcement and criminal private prosecutions. Melinka provides regulatory advice and representation to those that operate in the built environment and leisure and hospitality sectors.
Sophie Wood is a Senior Associate in the Criminal Litigation team with extensive experience in advising corporate and individual clients involved in a wide range of internal, criminal and regulatory investigations. Sophie has acted for individuals and companies involved in investigations brought by the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and local authorities, and is a member of the firm’s cross-practice Health, Safety and Environment Group.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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