Birmingham construction firms invited to attend mock trial

Construction companies in and around the Birmingham area have been invited to attend a mock health and safety trial, allowing them to raise opinions on the process and questions coming out of the event.

Organised in partnership with the construction industry's Working Well Together campaign and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the event takes place on Wednesday, 17th September.

The free day, which is also being presented in association with the Birmingham Health, Safety and Environment Association and local legal company Pinsent Masons, is being hosted at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park.

The trial will see a pretend prosecution acted out, where a painter and decorator suffers a fall from height. A sitting magistrate will hear the case, which will be presented by legal teams for both the prosecution and defence.

Delegates attending the event will hear each team's arguments before deciding on the verdict. A discussion will follow the verdict, along with a Q&A session so that the delegates can understand the reasons behind the decisions being made.

With falls accounting for a large number of fatalities at work in Britain, acting principal inspector for the HSE, Any Kalay, explained the importance of these events:

“It’ll be a real eye opener for those attending, giving a detailed insight into what happens when someone has to answer to the courts because a worker has been injured.”

The event is being hosted days ahead of the HSE's latest initiative of unannounced checks on construction sites, which gets underway on 22nd September.