Charges dropped in first Corporate Manslaughter Trial
15 October 2010
The SHP (Safety & Health Practitioner) has stated that the charges against the director have been dropped in the first corporate manslaughter trial. This has raised concerns as Sally Roff, partner and head of the safety, health and environment group at law firm Beachcroft LLP, believes that the Corporate Manslaughter Act has been tainted by the latest delay in court proceedings.
The long-awaited trial of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been adjourned again until 24 January 2011. Sally Roff also stated that "The Corporate Manslaughter Act has become tarnished with delay, both by the time it took to come to the statute books and now in its implementation."
This is a shame as most of us had such high hopes of this particular act providing a better mechanism of taking those responsible to 'task' over their negligence. We can now only await the outcome, but one has to feel for those families that have been affected; surely they would like to have some sort of closure sooner rather than later?
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