construction company director to face manslaughter charge
A company director has been charged with gross negligence
manslaughter in relation to the death of a three year old in July
2008 in Prestatyn when a wall collapsed on to a public footpath,
which she was walking along. The wall was designed by the director
and constructed by his company Parcol Developments Limited.
The offence of gross negligent manslaughter is committed when
the conduct which resulted in death was grossly negligent (ie the
conduct, although lawful, was so bad that it should be classed as
criminal) given the risk of death.
The company has also been charged with breaching section 3 of
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which requires all
employers to conduct their business in a way that ensures, so far
as is reasonably practicable, that others are not exposed to
risk.
The CPS announced that they had considered whether Parcol
Developments Ltd should also be charged with corporate
manslaughter. They had concluded that there was sufficient evidence
to prosecute the company for this offence, but that it would not be
in the public interest to do so. Under the Code for Crown
Prosecutors there are two stages to the decision whether to
prosecute – the evidential stage and the public interest stage. To
pass the evidential test, prosecutors must be satisfied that there
is enough evidence to provide a "realistic prospect of conviction".
If this test is passed, prosecutors must then go on to consider
whether a prosecution is required in the public interest.
A company is guilty of corporate manslaughter, under the
Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act 2007, if the way in which
its activities are managed or organised by its senior management
causes a person's death, and amounts to a gross breach of a duty of
care owed by the organisation to the victim, and is a substantial
element in the breach of duty. The CPS stated that as the company
only had two directors and only one was directly involved in the
incident, then the charge of gross negligence manslaughter against
him was sufficiently serious to address the alleged offending.
The director has been summonsed to appear at Prestatyn
Magistrates’ Court on 3 October 2011.
