Health & Safety
Katie is an experienced health and safety practitioner and is ranked as a leading junior in this area in Chambers & Partners.
Katie has significant expertise advising on fire safety and the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. She regularly advises organisations on fire safety across multi-building property estates.
She also edits the chapter on building control and approved inspectors’ liability under the Building Act 1980 and the new Building Safety Act 2022 in Emden on Construction Law.
Notable health and safety cases include:
- Represented E Ltd in respect of a prosecution arising from a fall from height during works related to HS2. Katie advised on plea and strategy and represented the company at the plea and sentencing hearing.
- Instructed for J Ltd in respect of a multi-defendant prosecution arising from an alleged failure to properly shore an excavation (led by Mark Balysz KC).
- Advising on the application of the Ionising Radiation Regulations 2017 and the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on the same in an ongoing HSE investigation of her client.
- Instructed in respect of the Haut De Mont explosion in Jersey in December 2022 (led by Simon Antrobus KC and Mike Atkins).
- Represented Serco Ltd (led by James Maxwell-Scott KC) in a prosecution under s. 2 HSWA 1974. Serco Ltd pleaded guilty on a basis that was not agreed. The resulting Newton Hearing lasted for 17 days. This was an unusual case which examined the circumstances of the first death of a custody officer at the hands of a prisoner during a control and restraint procedure in this jurisdiction. You can read more about the case here.
- Represented Greenfeeds Ltd (led by Mark Balysz KC) in the corporate manslaughter prosecution arising from two deaths at work in a confined space.
- Represented Stoneforce Ltd at two pre-trial hearings in the TopShop/Arcadia prosecution relating to the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy at a TopShop store in Reading in February 2017 (led by Dominic Kay KC).
- Represented NR, director of a roofing company, in a prosecution arising from two employees suffering falls from height during roof works. NR pleaded guilty and the HSE sought a custodial sentence which was avoided. NR was sentenced to community service.
- Represented various manufacturing businesses in cases arising out of failures to properly guard moving parts of a machine.
Notable fire safety cases include:
- Instructed for the property management company in the 6-handed fire safety prosecution arising out of the Beechmere Extra Care Facility fire in August 2019 (led by Mark Balysz KC).
- Advised HM Government on fire safety and health and safety risks across different property estates.
- Advised a mobile network operator in respect of the fire risk assessment requirements for 14,000 sites across England.
- Advised in respect of fire safety on the Hinckley Point C construction site, currently one of the largest construction projects taking place in the UK.
- Represents the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the MPS investigation arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Notable regulatory and road traffic cases:
- Represented an individual in a sentencing hearing arising out of a road traffic offence.
- Represented individuals in trial preparation hearings in respect of road traffic offence prosecutions, including death by dangerous and death by careless driving.
- Represented a management company being prosecuted for a statutory nuisance under s. 82 Environmental Protection Act 1990.
- Represented SBS Ltd and its director in a local authority advertising license prosecution under s. 224 of Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
- Represented RK Ltd, a London based restaurant, for the plea and sentencing hearing in a local authority planning prosecution relating to the breach of a condition notice under s 187A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
- Represented BH Ltd, for the plea and sentencing hearing relating to a prosecution under s 187A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for breach of planning condition in respect of noisy construction works.
- Represented FC Ltd in a CQC prosecution following the death of a resident of their care home who was crushed under a fire door.
- Instructed for MF Ltd in respect of a noise abatement notice appeal against the local authority.
- Advised O Ltd on the application of the COVID-19 regulations in respect of a fixed penalty notice where an employee had returned from a red-list country through an incorrect port.
- Representing Thames Water who were prosecuting a company for the use of an illegal standpipe.
- Represented C Ltd, a property management company, at the pre-trial stages of what was the first prosecution by a local authority arising from a failure to comply with an improvement notice served under the Housing Act 2004 in respect of the removal of a cladding system.
Selected Cases
View full profile »News
- James Ageros KC, Mark Balysz KC and Katie Sage secure acquittals in Fire Safety trial
- Forbury Gardens Terror Attack Inquests conclude – Jack Murphy represents Ambulance Service commended for its response
Events
- Criminal Regulatory Seminar at the Midland Hotel, Manchester
- “Keeping an eye on COVID-19: the morning after the night before” by Harry Vann & Katie Sage
Articles
- The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 – The Road To Life Imprisonment? By Katie Sage and Jack Murphy
- Innocent until probably guilty
Qualifications
- BPTC, Outstanding
- BCL
- BA (Hons) Oxon, First Class
- Hardwicke Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
- Buchanan Prize, Lincoln’s Inn
- Sir Roger Bannister Scholarship, Pembroke College
- Pembroke College Exhibition
Memberships
- HSLA
- South Eastern Circuit
Recommendations
“Katie is outstanding.”…”She is a go-to junior in health and safety who offers well-articulated advice in a timely manner.”…”Katie is fantastically organised and really astute on the key points of the law.”
Chambers & Partners, 2025
“Katie is exceptionally talented and very tactically astute.”…”Katie is an extremely thorough and safe pair of hands with an excellent eye for the details.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Katie is never phased by complex and large-scale issues that require a detailed analysis.”…”She does a lot of our cases because she’s very reliable and very diligent.”
Chambers & Partners 2024 (Health & Safety, Leading Junior)
“She is excellent in conference, very well prepared and thorough, and gives very reasoned and sensible advice, which is carefully explained to clients. She’s happy to support her instructing solicitor throughout the case and is excellent in court.”… “Her written work is fantastic; she’s good with clients, assertive and very self-assured.” … “Katie is a really clear communicator, who has an excellent grasp on the law but is really commercial with it.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024 (Inquests & Inquiries, Leading Junior)
“Katie is very thorough. Excellent in conference with clients and experts, she is an outstanding advocate.”
Legal 500, 2024 (Inquests & Inquiries, Leading Junior)
“Katie is very attentive and good with clients.” …”She is very thorough.”
Chambers & Partners, 2023 (Health & Safety, Up and Coming Junior)
“Katie is exceptional. She is really quick and intelligent, and has incredible analytical skills.”
Chambers & Partners, 2023 (Inquests & Inquiries, Up and Coming Junior)
“A real star in the making. Ferociously bright and hardworking, and with incredible powers of recall combined with an intuition for wider case strategy. Clients love her for taking the time to understand the finer detail of a case, and quickly making herself indispensable to the team. There is no doubt she will be a highly sought after barrister in the years to come.”
Legal 500, 2023 (Inquests & Inquiries, Leading Juniors)
“A rising star who has really strengthened the junior end of her set.”
Legal 500 2021 and 2022 (Consumer Law, Rising Star)
