Jackalpup said:
Would the rules/procedures that apply in a corporate manslaughter case be the same as those followed in a "club" manslaughter case ?
Specifically, in corporate law, as I understand it, the business owner/director/(whatever) directly responsible for ensuring HSE was folllowed (that failed, and lead to a death) would be held accountable even if he/she was not present.
Could a club member (Secretary/Chairman/Safety Officer etc) have his neck in the noose if he was not present at the time of the incident ?
First the law only recognises individual persons and certain "body corporates" such as plc companies and other bodies set up under statute like the National Trust. (This is obviously not an exhaustive list.) A typical club is an unincorporated body and as such is not recognised in law. What happens is that if there is a wish to take a club to a court of law, then as a prosecutor, one takes the members of the club as individuals who are jointly the club.
Now comes the hedge - As I understand it and I have not specifically read up on corporate manslaughter law, the act was set up to enable a body corporate to be prosecuted because of prior case law which showed that a body corporate could not be prosecuted for manslaughter which is a different law to corporate manslaughter. So corporate manslaughter only applies to body corporates. Otherwise it is going to be some individuals who are prosecuted for manslaughter or what ever.
Under health and safety (H&S) law it is not just the employer who is liable to be prosecuted, individuals can also be prosecuted. The first consideration here is whether or not the activity from which the death (for example) arose can be demonstrated to be an activity conducted as part of a 'work activities'. That last phrase needs a bit of explanation and I should add is not a legal phrase. H&S law was set up to minimise the death and injury of people from work activities. But because of concerns that some naughty people might try and claim they were not conducting a work activity, the definition of a work activity was made rather broader than one might first think. So a club might well overstep this blurred boundary and find themselves open to a prosecution under H&S law.
You ask about a club secretary being in the firing line. The simple answer is very much so. As I tried to indicate in my previous post, although potentially every member of the club is liable to being sued under civil law, those closer to the activity from which the death (for example) arose, are more likely to be caught. In terms of criminal law (such as manslaughter or H&S) then whilst it depends upon the circumstances, the likelihood is that it will be those members who were close to the activity from which the death (for example) arose who might face the charges. Club officials are often the first in the firing line when things go wrong. (Which is why having insurance cover for the club can be important - though I don't really wish to go down that avenue.)
To expand on a detail of your original post, take the winch. AndyF brought up some interesting points. Lifting gear, which covers winches, are subject to more stringent H&S law which includes a requirement to thoroughly examine the winch. A failure to do so is a clear breach - no ifs no buts, see Reg 9 of LOLER if you want to get into detail (for which there is an ACoP by the way - go to the HSE web site and search for LOLER).
And as Graham indicates, is there a specific scenario? If so, I would recommend that it is not initially discussed on this open forums until the end point is known as it cold be used in evidence against you. I would also add that I am aware that the two winch meets at GG are run by reputable clubs who have talked with BCA's Legal and Insurance Officer over requirements so they are covered by insurance. So it can be done but it does take a lot of effort.
