Company Director Convicted of Gross Negligence Manslaughter

Allan Compton KC, leading Andrew McGee, acted for the prosecution in a re-trial of Michael Hall, the Managing Director of Deco-pak Ltd. Following a six-week trial at Leeds Crown Court he was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter and subsequently sentenced to five years imprisonment.

The case concerned the death of an employee, crushed by a robotic arm used in a packaging line at the company’s premises in Hipperholme. Over a two-year period, safety mechanisms were bypassed, fencing was removed and unsafe practices implemented, placing employees at risk of death on a daily basis.

Deco-pak Ltd had previously been convicted at Bradford Crown Court following a ten week trial (https://www.2bedfordrow.co.uk/deco-pak-limited-convicted-of-corporate-manslaughter/)

The company was fined £700,000 with £90,000 costs.

Mr Compton KC and Mr McGee were instructed by Alex Johnson at the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the CPS based in York.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-65861682