News & Events
News & Events
In an article written as a guest of solicitors DWF, Tim Green provides a guide to a recent Court of Appeal decision that has important consequences for companies and their officers facing restraint and confiscation in respect of environmental offending. The judgment in R v Powell and Westwood [2016] EWCA Crim 1043 suggests a significant and welcome narrowing of the scope for confiscation in environmental enforcement. Powell and Westwood is thus essential reading for environmental lawyers.
News 10 Feb, 2017
On 16 December 2016, HHJ Pini QC sitting at Lincoln Crown Court issued fines and costs in excess of £2.5m. These were in respect of health and safety offences admitted by a the Principal Contractor and two sub-contractors working on deep excavations in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The case was unusual because of the complex contractual relationship between the defendants and the impact this had on their respective obligations to make the excavations safe. The Principal Contractor (“K Co”) pleaded guilty, as did a small sub-contractor (“L Co.”). The large sub-contractor was convicted after a three week trial. The trial included expert evidence for both sides and detailed submissions on the law relating to the duties lying on specialist sub-contractors, admissibility of…
News 2 Feb, 2017
MJ Allen Holdings Ltd pleaded guilty before the Crown Court to an offence under the work at height regulations. Three of its maintenance workers went onto a fragile roof of approximately 10-11 feet high, using crawling boards that had no edge protection to replace a fan. Whilst on the roof, one of the workers slipped on the crawling board and put his foot through the roof. He did not fall and no proper risk assessment had been undertaken. As a result, no proper method of work had been devised that adhered to health and safety guidelines about working on fragile rooves. However, the learned sentencing judge imposed on the company a fine of £160,000, which has been halved by the…
News 13 Jan, 2017
Tim Green awarded “The Lawyer Monthly’s Health and Safety Barrister 2016” The 2016 Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards recognises firms, individual lawyers, solicitors and barristers that have dedicated their resources to innovation, built on their depth of expertise, and performed outstandingly over the year. Over several months, the Lawyer Monthly research team collected and collated nominations through their online voting system. Each nomination was then compared against a strict set of measurable criteria, which was combined with additional industry research to help produce a definitive list of winners. The Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2016 winners stood out from their peers by demonstrating professional achievement and excellence in their jurisdiction and sector of practice. Tim Green has been consistently recommended by the…
News 19 Dec, 2016
On Friday 25th November, Tim Green presented a seminar to 150 delegates at the Health & Safety Lawyers Annual Conference. In his talk Tim analysed important new case law governing the application of the Sentencing Guidelines to health and safety investigations. The conference was a great success. Tim has been consistently recommended by the legal directories for his work in health and safety and environmental law. Please click here for Tim’s slides.
News 28 Nov, 2016
Fiona Horlick acted for Harlow District Council in their prosecution of G4S Cash Solutions Ltd for serious breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. G4S were sentenced on 2nd September 2016 at Chelmsford Crown Court. The Judge found a ‘flagrant breach of the law’ following G4S’s persistent failure over a number of years to protect its staff and visitors from the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria which carries a risk of death from Legionnaires Disease. G4S, a company with a turnover of £250 million, were fined a total of £1.8m and ordered to pay all the prosecution costs. The Judge, in applying the new sentencing guidelines, found very high culpability coupled with a statistically low risk…
News 7 Sep, 2016
Tim updates Lawyer Monthly on the UK Health & Safety regulatory developments where he points out that the recent introduction of the new sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences represents the principal change. Its main effect “has been a dramatic increase in financial penalties by around tenfold for large companies, and a much greater risk of imprisonment for negligent company officers”. Both the HSE and companies’ compliance officers have a pro-active reaction to the new regulations, Tim states. He also advises companies under investigation to prepare their defence as early as possible. Please click here for the full interview where many more key-points are discussed in greater detail. For many years Tim has been recognised by the Chambers &…
External Publications 28 Jul, 2016
Tim Green was recently instructed by the HSE in a precedent setting use of the Control of Major Hazard Regulations (“COMAH”) arising out of the inadvertent ignition of the rocket motor charge by Roxel Motor Limited. The defendant company admitted breaching s2 and 3 HSWA1974 when a technician examining a rocket charge with very hot borescope accidentally ignited the charge in the presence of 2 other technicians. The fire lasted around 10 seconds and burned at temperatures around 450 degrees. Other rocket charges were in the same room and an open rocket propellant store left open an adjacent room. Roxel’s emergency response to this major accident was inadequate leading to the first ever prosecution under Regulation 12 of COMAH for…
News 8 Jul, 2016
Ben Compton QC and Paul Rogers defend South Lakes Safari Zoo Limited and David Gill, its sole director, in the tiger killing case involving a 24 year old zoo handler, Sarah McClay. Both company and director originally faced a 14 count indictment alleging widespread systemic failures in relation to the running of the tiger house. However, following successful negotiations, the prosecution agreed to drop all counts (seven in total) including four s.37 allegations against David Gill and the company pleaded on a prepared and limited basis to a section 2 and 3 offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The section 2 offence concerned failings in the zoo’s risk assessment to have a suitable and sufficient maintenance…
News 14 Jun, 2016
Tim Green has appeared for the HSE in a complex investigation into unsafe excavations in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. Following a three week trial, including expert evidence and multiple rulings on the law before HHJ Pini QC, John Henry and Sons (Civil Engineers) Ltd were convicted by a unanimous verdict of breach of section 3 (1) HSWA. John Henry and Sons will be sentenced with their corporate co-defendants on 10 October. Since his appointment to the Attorney General’s A Panel of approved regulatory advocates in 2013, Tim has appeared in over 20 cases arising from death or serious injury at work. He is an expert in the criminal liability of companies, their directors, what steps are reasonably practicable for a business to take to…
News 23 May, 2016
Tim Green appeared for the Environment Agency in a successful high profile investigation into waste crime committed by companies, their directors and managers heard at Hereford Crown Court over 4 days between 15 to 18 February 2016. Tim is recognised as one of the UK’s leaders in environmental law and is regularly instructed by companies, their officers, private prosecutors and regulators in respect of complex and sensitive environmental enforcement activity.
News 1 Mar, 2016
Tim Green considers the penalties imposed for Health & Safety offences, against those for financial misconduct in ‘The Lawyer Monthly’. According to his article in ‘The Lawyer Monthly’, Tim believes that ‘With the coming into force on 1 February 2016 of the Sentencing Council Guidelines for health and safety offences and corporate manslaughter, the financial penalties for companies with a turnover of £50m+ which are convicted of serious health and safety offences will increase from around £250,000 to over £2.5m.’ Tim is a member of both the health and safety and financial services groups at Outer Temple Chambers, both of which are highly recommended by the recent editions of the legal directories.
News 5 Jan, 2016