판결 이유
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, once the prosecution proves that an employee was injured at work and that the employer failed to ensure their safety so far as was reasonably practicable, the burden shifts to the employer to show that it was not reasonably practicable to do more.
사실관계
A dumper truck driver was killed when his vehicle overturned on a construction site. The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company and its directors under ss.2 and 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
판결 요약
The House of Lords held that the prosecution need only prove the result (the employee was not safe) and that the employer had a duty. The burden then shifts to the employer to prove it did everything reasonably practicable. Lord Hope emphasised that the reverse burden was justified given employers' superior knowledge of workplace risks.
주요 인용문
"It will be enough for the prosecution to show that the employee or employees concerned were not safe... The employer must then show that it did all that was reasonably practicable."
— Lord Hope
후속 처리
The leading authority on the reverse burden of proof in health and safety prosecutions. Consistently applied in subsequent HSE prosecutions.