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23rd August 2006
Historical challenge to Crown Prosecution Service as family fights for son killed at work
Fatal Accident at Work
A family from Bridgend in Wales have been given leave to seek a judicial review of the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to bring manslaughter charges against an employer for the death of their son. It is only the second time in legal history the CPS has been brought to court in a case involving a fatality at work.Commenting, Mick Antoniw, a Partner at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “This case will review the way in which the CPS investigated the accident and the way in which they took their decision not to bring manslaughter charges.”
In April 2003, Daniel Dennis was 17 when he started his first real job working for roofing company North Eastern Roofing which was subcontracted to Midas Construction. His father, Peter Dennis, had contacted the employer and warned that his son had received no prior safety training and should therefore not work at heights.
Within a week of starting work, Daniel was killed after an accident at work which caused him to fall through a skylight on the roof of a Matalan store in Cwmbran, Gwent. Working from scaffolding, this involved the re-cladding to the roof and side of a B&Q store which was situated next to Matalan. Timber was being stored on the roof of the building. To access the timber, Daniel could walk over the section of the roof covering the Matalan store. Daniel had no safety training, had not been given training for working at heights, he was not wearing a harness and the skylight area had not been fenced off.
At an inquest on 15th March 2005 in Newport, the jury took less than 10 minutes to reach a verdict of unlawful killing. After representations to the CPS by the family they were informed that gross negligence manslaughter charges would not be brought.
The family’s solicitors, Thompsons, were instructed by trades union the GMB to seek a judicial review of the CPS decision.
The High Court decided that the case merits a judicial review on the basis that:
“The grounds in support of this claim are arguable. There is also a public interest in having full argument in a case such as this, where the inquest jury found there to have been unlawful killing but the Defendant (the CPS) has decided not to prosecute anyone.”
Allan Garley, Regional Secretary of the GMB South Western Region, said: “Too many workers are killed because of inadequate safety by negligent employers. It is time for the CPS to justify their failure to bring charges in cases such as this. The union is not after vengeance but employers have to be held to account for their actions.”
Mick Antoniw from Thompsons Solicitors in Cardiff added: “This decision is an important breakthrough for those seeking to hold employers to account for deaths through negligence at work. There has been considerable dissatisfaction with the way the CPS has dealt with these cases over the years and they will now be required to show how they acted and how they have come to their decision in open court. We believe the hearing will establish that the CPS has failed in its duty to bring manslaughter charges in this case.”
Peter Dennis, Daniel’s father, said: “We could not understand how in a case such as this the CPS could fail to bring charges. It is as though employers are above the law. Because of the support we have had from my trades union, the GMB, we will at last be able to find out why no manslaughter charges were brought. We will then press the CPS to re-open the case and review their original decision.”
Other News about this Fatal Accident
In the past, Thompsons have published other News Stories on the website concerning Daniel Dennis' family fighting for manslaughter charges to be brought against his employers. To read these stories, visit:
16th August 2006 - Latest HSE fatal injury statistics: Local solicitor condemns inability
to make significant improvements
21st July 2006 - Trade union solicitors welcome Corporate Manslaughter Bill but condemn wasted opportunity to improve workplace safety.
26th April 2006 - Families urge Government to ensure the Corporate Manslaughter Bill is tough on rogue employers
31st March 2006 - Family from Bridgend attempts to take Crown Prosecution Service to court following teenager’s tragic death
20th December 2005 - Thompsons welcomes government report on corporate manslaughter
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