PS & JE Ward Ltd charged

PS & JE Ward, who run a flower nursery Belmont in Norfolk, have been charged with corporate manslaughter in relation to the death of an employee in 2010.

The accident occurred at their Belmont Nursery in King’s Lynn.  Grezegorz Pieton died on 15th July 2010 when a metal hydraulic-trailer lifter he was towing touched an overhead power line, electrocuting him as a result. PS & JE Ward is a small company with fewer than 50 employees.

In April 2014 PS & JE Ward Ltd were found not guilty of corporate manslaughter however face a fine and costs of almost £100,000 for failing to ensure the safety of the worker.

Despite being cleared of corporate manslaughter, Judge Stephen Holt said that the court case had established the responsibility of the company for its employees under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act and, whilst the deceased may have acted on his own initiative by driving into the area with the overhead cables, this did not diminish the company’s responsibility.