A company Managing Director had arranged for a dockside crane to be adapted, so that with the jaws of the grab bucket open bags could be attached to hooks fitted within the bucket. Jones was in the hold of a ship loading bags onto the hooks when the jaws of the bucket closed and he was decapitated. In deciding not to prosecute the managing director and the company for gross negligence, the lack of subjective recklessness on his part was ‘dispositive’
Held: If the accused is subjectively reckless, then that may be taken into account by the jury as a strong factor demonstrating that his negligence was criminal, but negligence will still be criminal in the absence of any recklessness if on an objective basis the defendant demonstrated a ‘failure to advert to a serious risk going beyond mere inadvertence in respect of an obvious and important matter which the defendant’s duty demanded that he should address.’ That is a test in objective terms.
Judges:
Buxton LJ
Citations:
[2000] IRLR 373
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Shulman, Regina v Prentice, Regina v Adomako and Regina v Holloway CACD 21-May-1993
A patient had been injected with the wrong medicine, and died as a result.
Held: The ingredients of the offence of involuntary manslaughter by breach of duty are the existence and breach of a duty, which had caused death and gross negligence . .
Approved – West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service v Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd QBD 9-Feb-1995
It was alleged that the maximum permitted front axle weight of the vehicle in question was exceeded. The court was asked what were the circimstances defing a ‘user’ of a motor vehicle in prosecutions for use of the vehicle.
Held: ‘The . .
Cited by:
Cited – Regina on the Application of Rowley v Director of Public Prosecutions QBD 4-Apr-2003
The applicant sought to challenge a decision not to prosecute a third party following the death of her son. He had been in care, having multiple disabilities, including epilepsy. He drowned whilst in a bath. It had been recognised that he needed . .
Cited – Cambridgeshire County Council v Associated Lead Mills Ltd ChD 22-Jul-2005
The prosecutor appealed dismissal of the charge of driving a heavy commercial vehicle on a road which was subject to a maximum weight restriction in breach of the 1984 Act. The company denied that it had any knowledge of the actual route taken by . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime, Company
Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.180636