Lee Hughes and Simon Gurney defend in Local Authority prosecution of a nightclub and its managers following a fatal fall from height

Following a fatal fall from height outside a nightclub in Cannock in August 2017 when a 25 year old man fell 40 feet to his death from a car park, Lee Hughes and Simon Gurney were instructed to represent the company and the two individuals also prosecuted.

The prosecution’s case was that the starting point for a fine for the company should be between £54,000 and £160,000. In respect of the two individuals, a director and his partner, the prosecution suggested that the correct starting point was between 26 weeks to one year’s imprisonment for each of them. This was in part because the prosecution alleged that the offences the company and individuals were said to have committed were causative of the young man’s death.

Following a day of legal argument Lee and Simon persuaded the prosecution that the starting points for sentence should in fact be significantly lower, not least because there was no causation between the offences and the fatal fall from height. The Prosecution made significant concessions and guilty pleas were entered by the three defendants.

The case was sentenced recently, and the Company received a fine of £14,000. The two individuals were sentenced to a community order with a requirement that they undertake 120 hours unpaid work over a period of 2 years.

Lee and Simon have significant experience in health and safety matters. If you would like any further information then please contact David Wright, the director of clerking in chambers, on 0161 832 5701 or dwright@lincolnhousechambers.com
 
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/cannock-quartz-fined-ryan-shenton-3736989