Law Weblog

Corporate Manslaughter Conviction – £385,000 Fine

Saturday 19 February 2011 at 7:20 am | In News | 2 Comments

The first conviction and sentence under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, occurred this week when Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was fined £385,000.

In September 2008, Alex Wright, a young geologist employed by the company was investigating soil conditions in a deep trench, which collapsed and killed him.

The case is the first of its kind and is the first test of how the Sentencing Guidelines on Corporate Manslaughter (issued in February 2010) might be interpreted and applied.  It is clear that it would not be unreasonable to expect fines in the millions (rather than hundreds of thousands) of pounds and a starting point for fines is  £500,000, which is far higher than Health and Safety fines.

Whilst the objective of sentencing is to provide adequate deterrent to other companies who may commit health and safety offences, it should not have the effect of putting the company out of business and causing employees to lose their jobs.

The judge described Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings as in a “parlous financial state”, and the low fine reflects their inability to pay, nevertheless. the fine is considerable and sets the tone for future corporate manslaughter cases.