Simon Antrobus KC and Jack Murphy represent a “VLO” Construction Company sentenced to a fine of £285,000 in relation to an accident involving one fatality and another serious injury
Simon Antrobus KC and Jack Murphy successfully secured an extraordinarily low financial penalty for one of the largest construction companies in this country in relation to a tragic incident at one of its sites that involved the loss of one life and serious injuries to another operative. The case was somewhat exceptional as the HSE accepted both low culpability and low likelihood of harm as being applicable, as there was no criticism of the company’s systems and it was accepted this was a case of momentary human error. The case bore strong similarity to the seminal sentencing case of R v Whirlpool as both operatives were working in a scissor lift that was knocked over by an overhead gantry crane in circumstances where the operator of the crane had simply not seen them. The Defendant company was the Principal Contractor for the site and pleaded guilty to a single strict liability offence under Regulation 8 of LOLER 1998.
Whilst the parties were agreed as to culpability, harm and causation, the Prosecution submitted that as the company’s turnover was £4bn it should receive a sentence proportionate to that economic size, and significantly above that imposed on Whirlpool (whose turnover had been nearer to £700m). The Judge agreed with the Defence that such an uplift was inappropriate on the facts of the current case and adopted pretty much the same starting point of £500,000 after Steps 1 and 2 of the Guideline. He then agreed with the Defence that a further reduction was warranted at Step 3 to reflect limited profitability and the company’s demonstrable safety culture. He accepted the Defence mitigation that the company’s economic success was in no small part generated by the safety reputation it had built up over the years, allowing it to win substantial contracts. After credit of 25% for the guilty plea entered at the PCMH in the Crown Court, the total fine imposed was £285,000.
The Judge was at pains to point out that this extraordinarily low financial penalty was because of what were exceptional circumstances relating to a strict liability offence in which the company was essentially liable for the human error on the part of its site management in circumstances that were in spite of the systems in place and were out of character with its ordinary operations, including those that took place that very morning.
Simon and Jack were instructed by Sean Elson and Hannah Burton from Pinsent Masons LLP, Birmingham.
