Corporate Manslaughter prosecution, fine, suspended sentence and publicity order

Corporate Manslaughter prosecution following a fall through a fragile roof. Following the fatal fall through a fragile roof in 2011, a building firm was sentenced by Preston Crown Court in February after it pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter. Following their investigation, the HSE said that the company did nothing to make sure that the worker (Jason Pennington) was safe while he worked on the roof. Mr Pennington had been working on the roof and had fallen through a skylight from a height of approximately 7.6 meters onto a concrete floor. He was taken to hospital where he died a short time later.

The  building and joining firm (Peter Mawson Ltd)  pleaded guilty in December to corporate manslaughter and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of employees. The company was fined £200,000 for the corporate manslaughter offence, and £20,000 for the health and safety breach. The Company owner, Mr Peter Mawson, also pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was sentenced  to:

• eight months in prison, suspended for two years
• 200 hours unpaid work
• a publicity order to advertise what happened on the company website for a set period of time, and to take out a half page spread in the local newspaper, and
• pay costs of £31,504

After the trial, the investigating inspector at HSE, commented:

“Jason tragically lost his life because the company that employed him did nothing to make sure he was safe while he worked on a fragile roof.

“Peter Mawson knew the clear panels on the roof weren’t safe to walk on but neither he nor his company provided any equipment to prevent workers falling to their death. If scaffolding or netting had been fitted under the fragile panels, or covers had been fitted over them, then Jason would still be here today.”