Image from Google Jackets

Ramsgate walkway collapse: legal ramifications

By: Series: Construction Law Journal ; 17(1) 2001, 25-48(23)Publication details: 2001Subject(s): Summary: Analyses the judgment in "HSE v Port Ramsgate Ltd and others" and related legal developments to structural safety and the wider implications for procurement and working practices. Considers: criminal liability for latent defects under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; the common law duty of care in tort in such cases; the impact of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994; and the possibility of charges of manslaughter being brought. Calls for authoritative guidance on the role and responsibilities of design-build clients; statutory powers for the regulation of design-build contractors; a review of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, and of the use of jury trials for such prosecutions and fines and costs; review procedures to eliminate inadequacies in standards; the removal of legal confidentiality to enable relevant health and safety information to be released; and the implementation of the Law Commission's recommendations on corporate manslaughter.

Analyses the judgment in "HSE v Port Ramsgate Ltd and others" and related legal developments to structural safety and the wider implications for procurement and working practices. Considers: criminal liability for latent defects under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; the common law duty of care in tort in such cases; the impact of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994; and the possibility of charges of manslaughter being brought. Calls for authoritative guidance on the role and responsibilities of design-build clients; statutory powers for the regulation of design-build contractors; a review of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, and of the use of jury trials for such prosecutions and fines and costs; review procedures to eliminate inadequacies in standards; the removal of legal confidentiality to enable relevant health and safety information to be released; and the implementation of the Law Commission's recommendations on corporate manslaughter.