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Hatfield
case emphasises need for legal reform
David Bergman, director of the CCA, welcomed the large
fines imposed on these two companies for serious breaches
of health and safety law. He said: "the failure
to achieve convictions against any individuals for
health and safety or manslaughter offences, or against
companies for manslaughter offences, reflects a need
for significant legal reform in this area.
First,
reform to the law of corporate manslaughter is required
to ensure that large companies can be convicted of
this offence without the need to prosecute a senior
manager or director.
Second,
the law needs to be changed to impose positive health
and safety duties upon company directors. It is the
absence of duties that allows company directors to
avoid placing sufficient emphasis on health and safety
in companies, and also means that it becomes difficult
to hold them to account when deaths or injuries result
from their personal negligence".
The
Centre for Corporate Accountability is a charity
advising those bereaved from work-related deaths,
and working on issues of safety, law enforcement
and corporate accountability.
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