Health & Safety
We are experts in health and safety law, with one of the largest teams of specialist health and safety lawyers in the UK. Our nine-strong team includes lawyers with links to industry bodies including IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety & Health) and NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health), and we pride ourselves on our practical advice. Our clients are drawn from a wide range of industrial and commercial sectors, including construction and engineering, energy, infrastructure provider, manufacturing, retail and leisure, as well as public sector bodies.
The 2005 Chambers and Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession describes us as having "an impressive and dedicated health and safety team" and describes the lead partner, Dr Simon Joyston-Bechal, as an "impressive adviser". The team draws upon the full extent of Pinsent Masons’ experience to improve risk management and deal with regulatory investigations and prosecutions.
Internally prepared accident investigation reports are increasingly being used by prosecutors and civil claimants in proceedings as evidence of a health or safety failure. We help our clients to take simple measures so that accident investigation reports can be legally privileged and, therefore, do not need to be disclosed.
Our experience covers all areas of health and safety law. Our core services fall broadly into four categories:
Liability Advice
Safety Management
Accidents and Fatalities
Training and Seminars
Recent experience:
From drafting contracts to representing defendants in enforcement proceedings, our experience covers all manner of health and safety legal advice. A small sample of our recent practical experience of health and safety includes the following:- dealing with the aftermath of fatal accidents (including Inquests and defending prosecutions), for example:
- fall through a roof on a refurbishment project
- load falling from a crane
- concrete lintel falling during manual lifting
- impaling incident at a waste water treatment site
- crushing incident between two quarry dumper trucks
- telehandler crushing incident and mini-digger crushing incident
- running down by a reversing construction site dumper truck and another due to reversing telehandler
- acting for a railway maintenance company following the death of a track worker struck by a train, including participation in the successful defence of the track supervisor's manslaughter trial
- acting on asbestos exposure prosecutions for surveyors, principal contractors and a specialist asbestos removal contractor
- reviewing the policies, procedures and health and safety plans for several major construction companies.
