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Previously we reported that Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings were fined £385,000 after becoming the first company to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act. This followed the death of Alex Wright in 2008, who suffocated when the 3.5m trench he was working in collapsed on top of him.
It has now been reported that solicitors representing both Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings and its Managing Director, Peter Eaton, have applied for permission to appeal against the fine and conviction. A decision on whether to allow the appeal to be heard is expected in the next few weeks.
In view of the size of the fine and the status of the case as the first under the Act it is not surprising that an appeal has been launched.
The Act requires the prosecution to 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 relevant duty of care to the deceased; and that the role of senior management in the offence was a substantial element. The solicitors have stated that “questions over the role of senior management and of what constitutes grossness remain open to interpretation”.
