Stephen Hockman QC and David Hercock succeed in the Court of Appeal in reducing a fine for health and safety offences by £420,000

March 28, 2019

Stephen Hockman QC and David Hercock, instructed by Rachel Lyne of Browne Jacobson LLP, successfully represented the Appellant in an appeal against sentence in Faltec Europe Limited v Health and Safety Executive [2019] EWCA (Crim) 520.

Following the recent decision of R v Squibb Group Limited [2019] EWCA Crim 227 the judgment again highlights the importance of expert evidence in the assessment of the likelihood of harm under the Sentencing Guideline for Health and Safety Offences. The judgment also confirms the requirement for a sentencing court to direct itself in accordance with the criminal standard of proof when determining the likelihood of harm.

The judgment will have implications for the sentencing of other regulatory offences and establishes some wider points of principle including the fact that a provision made in a defendant company’s accounts in relation to a fine for the offences in question is irrelevant when a court is considering the proportionality of the fine to be imposed.

A copy of the judgment can be accessed here.