Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings has applied for permission to appeal against its conviction under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, and the £385,000 fine imposed on them.
Under the legislation, the prosecution must prove that the way in which the relevant activities of the accused organisation were managed or organised caused a person's death, that there was a gross breach of the duty of care to the deceased and that the role of senior management in the offence was substantial. Referring to the background to the incident on 5 September 2008, which resulted in the death of junior geologist Alex Wright when a trench pit collapsed on him, the company's legal representative Kevin Bridges explained how Managing Director Peter Eaton left the trench site at the end of the working day and instructed Mr Wright to "finish up".
However, Mr Eaton did not realise that Mr Wright had gone against company practice and entered a 3.5m deep pit while unsupervised and with nobody else on the surface.
The prosecution had argued that the routine failure by the company to prohibit entry into pits deeper than 1.2m, and the failure of Mr Eaton to enforce such a ban, amounted to a gross breach of the duty of care. They went on to say that their own health and safety policy was ignored, as was relevant industry-specific guidance, British Standards and previous HSE advice.
In response, the defence admitted that the system of work was deficient and that there was a failure to provide specific training and conduct risk assessments and method statements for trial-pit work. In addition, they also failed to ensure their health and safety policy specifically related to trial-pits. Mr Bridges argued that none of the admitted failures related to the specific duty to ensure the safety of Mr Wright, as opposed to employees generally. The defence also suggested the industry guidance and British Standards were not specific and as prescriptive as the prosecution made out. They claimed that others in the industry adopted similar practices and that Mr Wright's entry into the pit that collapsed was contrary to company policy and was unforeseeable and unnecessary.
Given the significance of the case, a decision on whether Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings will be granted permission to appeal is expected within the next few weeks.
