Mark Balysz KC has secured the acquittal of a cargo ship operator after a three-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court
Mark Balysz KC has secured the acquittal of a cargo ship operator after a three-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court. The Company was found not guilty by a jury of two offences alleging a failure to ensure the safety of its seafarers, so far as reasonably practicable, on two of its vessels, in breach of regulation 5 The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997. It was alleged that there was a failure to adequately segregate vehicles from pedestrians during cargo operations, which gave rise to the tragic death of a 3rd Officer at Liverpool Docks. The Company successfully argued that its systems were in accordance with the Code for Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers and that the fatal accident occurred due to a failure on the part of the deceased, qualified to Chief Officer level, to follow the same. Mark Balysz KC was instructed by John Caddies and Stephen Barnfield at Hill Dickinson LLP.
