by Neil Cahill, Director, Dispute Resolution team at Fieldfisher LLP, Dublin
Parliament sought to improve conditions in the workplaces of the Industrial Revolution, right through to the present day when we see the ever-increasing scope of domestic and EU legislation.
The core objective of this legislation has been to try to put a statutory framework on the enforcement of health and safety and to prevent injury and death.
In the corporate world, the sector in which a company operates dictates their risk profile in respect of health and safety. The Annual Report of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) identified that in 2023 forty-three lives were lost in work related accidents. Areas which one could consider high risk include Construction, Agriculture and Manufacturing.
It is essential that the prudent organisation guards against these risks, for the following reasons:-
The Financial Cost
If an incident occurs resulting in serious injury, or even worse death, there is a financial cost. This cost can be twofold. Firstly, it is likely that there will be a claim made by either the injured person or, in the case of a fatality, the family of the deceased. While a prudent golf club will ensure they have adequate insurance provision to cover such an event, such a claim can run into the hundreds of thousands or more and it is likely they will have a significant adverse effect at insurance renewal time.
In addition, an organisation can be subject to further criminal sanction through either prosecution by the HSA for breaches of legislation
Incidents can result in significant fines for organisation’s that are rarely covered by insurance and also subject to the terms of the organisation’s policy they may also be required to pay their own legal costs.
The Reputational Cost
Serious incidents are newsworthy as they may be subject to reporting in the local or national media. In addition, if a prosecution is successful, the HSE or HSA (Ireland) will publish the details of the incident and fines on their websites.
The Personal Cost
It is obvious the personal cost to the injured party but there are other costs. For example, there may be an effect on those who witness the incident. This can affect a person’s mental health or general morale within the organisation. Also, it is possible if there is sufficient evidence that individuals within the organisation can be prosecuted either at common law or under legislation. In extreme circumstances this can lead to custodial sentences for those individuals.
Conclusion
Taking all these factors into account, organisations should have in place safeguards to prevent health and safety incidents and, in the unfortunate event of such an incident, to show that systems were in place to protect both the organisation and individuals.
About the author
Neil Cahill is a Director in the Dispute Resolution team based in the Fieldfisher LLP Dublin office. Neil has over twenty years of experience in litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration. He has acted for a wide variety of commercial entities, companies, individuals, insurers and self-insureds on matters relating to both commercial dispute resolution and personal injury litigation
