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HSE v Pearlview Estates Limited, Faulkner Gates Limited & Electric Gate Services Limited
27/01/2010
Criminal Regulatory & Environmental
Bournemouth Crown Court before HHJ Harrow
The trial of this matter concluded on Monday with the First and Third Defendant companies being acquitted by the jury. Dominic Kay (instructed by Beachcroft LLP) represented the First Defendant, Pearlview Estates Limited.
The case related to the prosecution of three companies following the death of a young boy, Jason Keet, who was crushed by a set of electric gates at his grandparents' apartment in Poole, Dorset. All three companies, each of which played a role in the design, construction and/or installation of the gates, were prosecuted under s.3 HSWA 1974 on the basis that their alleged breaches caused the boy's death. The case received widespread publicity following the Court of Appeal's ruling in October following a terminating ruling appeal by the prosecuting authority. The Second Defendant, Faulkner Gates Limited, pleaded guilty at an earlier stage and will be sentenced in due course.
Full details of the trial and verdict will appear in the forthcoming Health & Safety and Regulatory Law Newsletter.
BBC News link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8479584.stm
