Corporate Manslaughter

Viewing notes: 

If you experience problems with audio levels, the volume can be adjusted on the video player. Alternatively, use of headphones should increase the volume output. Subtitles are also available, and a PDF of the full transcript can be found to the right of the video under Resources.

Overview

The above video provides a summary of the key elements of corporate manslaughter that staff need to be aware of.

Please note that the weblinks provided at the end of the video have since been updated. The current versions of the University's Health and Safety policies and procedures can be accessed via the links on the right hand side of this page.

Please note the change to the sentencing guidelines and penalties effective from 1 February 2016, and see the briefing note on corporate manslaughter sentencing guidelines.

Content and Aims

Focus

This Podbriefing is delivered by Kevin Bridges, a practising lawyer who specialises in this area of the law and who represented the first company to be charged with corporate manslaughter. Alongside this, a court room scenario depicts the prosecution of the fictional Oldtown University in connection with the death of a student in one of the university's laboratories.

Liability for Organisations and Individuals

Although only organisations can be liable for corporate manslaughter, individuals are often prosecuted for other criminal offences alongside them, as demonstrated by the real-life case examples that are provided below.

The Court Room Scenario

During the scenario, three members of staff at Oldtown University are present in court: Dr Slack, Mr Blindeye and Professor Stoic. Each member of staff fails to follow safety procedures and has a lax attitude towards health and safety in the workplace. Their collective failures then lead to the fatality.

Furthermore, while the characters in the scenario are fictional, the facts are taken from a real case.