Landmark Corporate manslaughter Conviction

25 February 2011

LANDMARK CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER CONVICTION A jury at Winchester Crown Court has found Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Ltd guilty of an offence under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, the first conviction of its kind in the UK courts. The three-week trial followed the death of geologist Alexander Wright in September 2008, when the trench in which he was working collapsed.

Landmark Corporate Manslaughter conviction

A jury at Winchester Crown Court has found Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Ltd guilty of an offence under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, the first conviction of its kind in the UK courts. The three-week trial followed the death of geologist Alexander Wright in September 2008, when the trench in which he was working collapsed.

The court was told that Mr Wright had been left alone at the site by the company's director, Peter Eaton, to finish up for the day. The jury held that the company's conduct fell far below that which could reasonably have been expected. In the run up to trial, Mr Eaton had also faced charges of gross negligence manslaughter and an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, but ill health prevented him from standing trial. Sentence will be passed on the company on 17 February. The fine could be significant - with the Sentencing Guidelines Council suggesting that any fine is unlikely to be less than £500,000.

Cotswold Geotechnical is a small company and while the conviction may not have tested the boundaries of the 2007 Act, it ought to serve as a reminder that the police and prosecutors will look closely at the conduct of senior management following a workplace fatality. The conviction coincides with another national push from the Health and Safety Executive to clamp down on unsafe construction sites.