Expert Welcomes New Proposals

New plans to speed up to the process of prosecution in relation to fatal accidents at work are expected to be introduced in October.

It has been revealed that the National Liaison Committee is set to make a change to a protocol which would allow charges to be brought before an inquest is held by a coroner into a workplace fatality.

Expected to be brought into play later this year, the move has been welcomed by national law firm Irwin Mitchell.

Workplace injury specialists at Irwin Mitchell advise those who have suffered serious, life-changing injuries as a result of their employer’s negligence, as well as the families of those who have died due to safety failings.

David Urpeth, the national head of the team at the law firm, said: “When it comes to the cases we act in, the reason we are approached is generally because victims and their loved ones want answers over what went wrong in their case and assurances that the same thing will not happen to anyone else.

“A change of this kind will go some way to helping families who have been left devastated by the consequences of preventable safety failings in their battle for justice over the loss of a loved one.

“Employers have a duty of care to protect their workers and make health and safety a priority, but sadly we see many cases in which not enough has been done to ensure this is the case.

“It is only right that organisations are held to account for failings, as prosecutions can undoubtedly play a key role in driving home the importance of workplace safety and the need for firms to focus on it.”