Areas of Work
Health and Safety
1 Temple Gardens provides quality throughout its ranks in the field of health and safety and has specialists at every level. It has been for many years one of the leading sets in this field. Chambers and Partners has noted:
"This set continues to dominate the field of health and safety with its laudable reputation for work in the rail sector ... The set continues to ensure the breadth of its practice with an increasingly strong reputation in advisory work for companies that want to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation. Members continue to lead the pack ..."
The current Edition of Chambers and Partners continues to list 1 Temple Gardens in the top band of Leading Sets in this field and notes:
"1 Temple Gardens has had a role in a number of high profile cases over the past few years, such as major rail disasters. A heavyweight player in the field it is celebrated for the calibre of its many clued-up and committed juniors ..."
The current Edition of Legal 500 also continues to list 1 Temple Gardens in the top band of Leading Sets in this field and records:
"1 Temple Gardens has a prominent reputation among health and safety practitioners who highlight the efficiency of the clerking team under the supervision of the ‘very much on the ball' Dean Norton"
Hugh Carlisle QC, Dominic Grieve QC, Kevin McLoughlin, Mark Bishop, Keith Morton, Dominic Adamson, Fiona Canby and Tim Sharpe are all recommended in the current editions of Chambers and Partners and/or Legal 500 as leaders in the field.
Members of Chambers appeared in many of the leading cases of the 1990s, such as R v Board of Trustees of the Science Museum [1993] ICR 876, R v British Steel plc [1994] ICR 586, R v Associated Octel Co Ltd [1996] 1 WLR 1543, R v Associated Octel Ltd [1997] 1 Cr App R (S) 435 (on costs) and Harris v Evans [1998] 1 WLR 1285. More recent significant cases include:
R v Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited and Geoconsult GmbH (1999) (Hugh Carlisle QC, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Keith Morton): collapse of tunnels at Heathrow Airport during the construction of the Heathrow Express rail link
R v Howe [1999] 2 All ER 249 (Hugh Carlisle QC): leading case on sentencing
Railtrack Plc v Dr Smallwood [2001] ICR 714 (Hugh Carlisle QC and David Barr): circumstances in which power to issue a Prohibition Notice may be exercised
Thames Trains Ltd v HSE [2003] EWCA Civ 720 (Hugh Carlisle QC, Keith Morton, David Barr): circumstances in which claim may be struck out and whether HSE owed a duty of care to rail passengers
R v Thames Trains Ltd (2004) (Hugh Carlisle QC, Keith Morton, David Barr): prosecution arising out of Ladbroke Grove rail crash
R v Balfour Beatty and Others (2005) (John Bate-Williams, Mark Bishop, Fiona Canby and Tim Sharpe): prosecution arising out of the Hatfield rail crash
R v Balfour Beatty and Others [2006] EWCA Crim 1586 (Fiona Canby and Tim Sharpe): leading case on sentencing
R v Corus UK Ltd (2006) (Hugh Carlisle QC and Dominic Adamson): prosecution arising out of explosion at Port Talbot steelworks
R v Southampton University Hospital Trust [2006] EWCA Crim 2971 (Keith Morton): first prosecution of a hospital under health and safety legislation arising out of the standard of clinical care and approach to sentencing public bodies
R v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (2007) (Keith Morton): prosecution arising out of the Stockwell shooting
Commission v United Kingdom (2007) (David Barr): challenge by the Commission as to whether the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 implemented the Framework Directive on Safety and Health
Spencer v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2008] ICR 1359 (David Barr): limitation in Francovich-type claims in which contended that the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 fail properly to implement Art.6 of the Framework Directive on Safety and Health 89/391/EEC
R v Bulmer Ltd and Nalco Ltd (2008) (Mark Bishop and Keith Morton): prosecution arising from a legionella outbreak in Hereford
Members of Chambers are experienced in representing individuals as well as corporations at risk of prosecution. Some members of Chambers have particular experience of representing clients at interviews under caution. Further, Chambers has a strong reputation for its advisory work across a broad range of health and safety related matters. In the past year members have advised in relation to various public health matters. It is one of the leading sets for government health and safety work. Members of Chambers have provided advice to a number of government departments on matters such as the impact of Crown Censures and Crown Improvement Notices, the health and safety implications of arrangements to combat an outbreak of avian influenza as well as advising the Health and Safety Executive on policy matters. Members of chambers regularly advise on compliance issues.
Members of Chambers regularly lecture on the subject. Several members of Chambers collaborated to produce Prosecuting and Defending Health and Safety Cases (published 2007 xpl).