Health and Safety

It is only relatively recently that health and safety law and practice has been seen as a separate sub-speciality of broader fields of practice, but in fact 7 Bedford Row's members have long been involved prominently in this area - from the prosecutions resulting in the late 1980s from the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster at Zeebrugge, to advising the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to sustainable criticisms of the Metropolitan Police arising out of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell tube station in 2005 (leading eventually to successful prosecution of the Police in 2007 under section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974). 7 Bedford Row's combination of criminal and civil expertise as trial advocates produces barristers particularly well-suited to this area of practice - with knowledge and experience of defending and prosecuting in the criminal courts, and as names familiar to the institutional, corporate and insurer clients who regularly face - or fund the defence of - prosecutions. Members of chambers practise regularly in this field, which is likely to expand with increased focus on such issues and with, for example, the advent of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.