Employers can continue to argue that they are not liable for accidents at work because of unforseeable events or negligent actions by employers, following a decision by the law lords.
Law lords refused to give the Health and Safety Executive permission to appeal a May Court of Appeal ruling, thwarting a move that the defence solicitors DWF claimed would ‘effectively rob employers of any real defence against health and safety prosecutions’. The case centred around two employees for HTM, who were sub-contractors for Colas, which was working for the Highways Agency.
The Court of Appeal rejected the HSE’s attempt to argue that employers should still be required to take reasonable steps against unforeseeable risks despite negligent actions by employees. It relates to a case in which two workers employed by HTM died in a tragic accident on the A66, when a mobile lighting tower they were moving touched an overhead electricity cable.
The HSE appealed to the Court of Appeal on two points of law as part of the prosecution it brought against HTM, relating to whether the ‘foreseeability of events and actions of employees can be used as defences’.
The HSE’s failure to overturn the original ruling by the recorder at a March preparatory hearing in Middlesbrough on the points of law affects the scope of the planned criminal trial of HTM for the death of Fred Cook and John Crimmins. It had claimed that 1999 health and safety regulations prevented employers from using acts of their employees in their defence.