Judge acknowledges ‘insulting’ fine after electrician’s death

Roz Sanderson

A judge in South Wales has acknowledged the level of a fine may appear “superficially insulting” after an electrician cut into a live electrical cable and was electrocuted.

Jamie Paul, 26, was doing asbestos removal work at Cwncarn High School in July 2013. He accessed a ceiling void to create an enclosure to contain the asbestos during its removal.

While he was cutting plastic sheeting he cut into a live electric cable and was electrocuted.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Caswell Environmental Services Ltd had not taken adequate steps to ensure that the electrical supply at the school was isolated before the work was undertaken.

Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it found that Caswell Environmental Services Ltd had not taken adequate steps to ensure that the electrical supply at the school was isolated before the work was undertaken.

Following Jamie’s death, the company went into liquidation and was found guilty in their absence of breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

District Judge Martin Brown said the level of fines “must clearly reflect that the company no longer exists and has no profit from which the court can extract punishment”.

Caswell Environmental Services Ltd received a nominal fine of £10,000 after the company went into liquidation.

Judge Brown stressed that the sentencing guidelines around an offence of this kind involving a firm still in operation would have recommended a fine of between £170,000 and £1 million.

“The entire purpose of sentencing, namely to reflect culpability and responsibility in a health and safety case, has little or no impact when the company itself no longer operates,” said District Judge Brown.

“Had I been dealing with a company continuing to operate with the sort of profit margins exhibited in (Caswell Environmental Services’) previous accounts, this court would have been looking at a fine certainly in excess of £200,000.

“But no purpose can be achieved by imposing such a fine – indeed the approach to sentencing is now academic.”

He recognised that the fines may never be recovered, but hoped he had made it “abundantly plain that my comments should send at least a signal to those affected catastrophically by the death of Mr Paul that the fine represents what the court can and must do here.”

The case, heard at Newport magistrates’ court, was not contested as liquidators for Caswell Environmental Services believed it was not in their interest, acting on creditors’ behalf, to incur more costs.

Prosecutor Michael Veal instead sought to prove the HSE’s case on both charges, District Judge Brown subsequently declaring he was satisfied the standard and burden of proof had been met.

District Judge Brown called it “an extremely tragic case.”

“The death of Mr Paul has been cataclysmic and his family has suffered enormously,” he said.

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