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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Safety => Topic started by: jayjay on July 29, 2008, 01:58:57 PM
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A further attempt to prosecute the owners has failed again on friday 25th July at Edinburgh Appeal Court again the court ruled that the three previous owners could not be prosecuted as the firm has been disolved.
See The Herald for more details.
Seems we will have to wait to find out what happend.
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Case against fatal fire care home owners collapses A further attempt to prosecute the owners of a care home, where 14 elderly residents died in a fire, collapsed today.
Thomas Balmer, 61, Anne Balmer, 60, and their son Alan Balmer, 34, faced 17 charges over the fire at Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston in January 2004.
These included alleged health and safety breaches and alleged failure to implement and maintain an effective fire safety strategy at the home.
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The Appeal Court today ruled that the Crown cannot proceed with the indictment because the firm has been dissolved.
The firm Rosepark Care Home, which was run by Mr and Mrs Balmer and their son, was dissolved on February 28 2005.
The Crown Office said that they are considering a fresh indictment.
In their opinion, published today, appeal court judges said: "We conclude that the dissolved partnership does not have any continuing legal personality following dissolution and accordingly we consider that the indictment to which the petitions are directed is incompetent."
It follows the failure of an earlier attempt to prosecute the trio.
The Balmers had previously been due to stand trial over alleged safety breaches at Rosepark Care Home but a judge dismissed the charges over a legal technicality last year.
Prosecutors launched a legal challenge but the appeal court refused the Crown's appeal against the decision.
Solicitor-general Frank Mulholland, QC, said the Appeal Court's decision has brought an important clarification to Scots Law.
He said: "The decision has brought an end to the current indictment against Rosepark Care Home specifying that the firm was now dissolved.
"The prosecution of a dissolved partnership was previously unknown in Scots law.
"Today's decision of the Appeal Court has clarified the law in relation to the liability of a dissolved partnership for alleged crimes that occurred prior to it being dissolved.
"The Appeal Court has held that criminal liability does not rest with the former firm in its firm name."
Consideration is being given to a fresh indictment. Crown Counsel will study the judgement and give consideration to the best way forward.
He said: "Crown Office officials and the Procurator Fiscal have met the families to explain the judgement and the options open to the Crown.
"We are grateful to the families for their patience in this matter.
"As soon as a decision is taken we will advise the families of it."
The Rosepark fire was one of the worst tragedies in Scotland in recent years.
As well as the death of the 14 residents, several other people were injured when a fire broke out in a downstairs cupboard in the care home.
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Thanks Piglet
The whole tragic event has been veiled in secrecy due to the ongoing legal action, there must be huge lessons for us all in the case. It now seems that the potential legal action has now been kicked into touch and there appear to be no solid grounds to persue it- is it not now high time the details of the fire and the events surrounding the incident were brought out into the open?
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Isn't it interesting that we have 3 people responsible for 14 deaths yet there is no way in law to prosecute them for their alleged failures. Perhaps more sad then interesting, I wonder how they go through their daily routines knowing that those 14 people died at their hands.
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Isn't it interesting that we have 3 people responsible for 14 deaths yet there is no way in law to prosecute them for their alleged failures. Perhaps more sad then interesting, I wonder how they go through their daily routines knowing that those 14 people died at their hands.
This is nothing new really. Consider Blair and the Iraq war.
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Is it any different from limitied companies killing people and top execs not being charged.
I guess that legally those three different individuals didn't run the home, a separate legal entity that they set up did.
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we have 3 people responsible for 14 deaths yet
PS: I think I'm right in saying that nobody has been found guilty of any crimes yet. Innocent until proven guilty......
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Corporate Manslaughter became law this year so that may assist in the future. You are correct of course in that no one will ever be found guily of any crime if indeed there was one committed.
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A bit more detail on the latest ruling on the Rospark Care Home Fire
http://www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-news/bothwell-and-uddingston-news/2008/07/31/rosepark-home-owners-win-latest-legal-battle-51525-21437327/
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Though the law has changed differently either side of the Border, back in 2004 the Fire Precautions Act and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regs were basically the same acroos Great Britain. On that basis, I hope that the Crown Office is looking carefully at section 23 and 24 of the Act and will either challenge the Court ruling (if they believe they can prove and offence has taken place) on the basis of section 23 or simply prosecute the former directors under section 24.
23. Offences by bodies corporate.— (1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence, and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, this section shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.
24. Offences due to fault of other person. Where the commission by any person of an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence, and a person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this section whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.
Or maybe that's just too simple.
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This was not a further attempt at prosecution. As I understand it this was merely clarifying the status of directors, limited companies, partners and partnerships as persona as defined in Scots Law.
The appeal judges have re-emphasised that the individuals can still be prosecuted. Also note that it is Rosepark not Rospark.
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Rosepark in news again, further prosecution planned
see BBC news link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7645985.stm
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Setting aside the legal issues surrounding this incident is there a report available on the circumstances of the fire including a description of the level of fire safety measures which were in place at the time?
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This link, gives you some info,
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-04/sor0204-02.htm
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This link, gives you some info,
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-04/sor0204-02.htm
Thanks Ricardo
Came across that whilst googling but not very informative on cause and fire safety measures.
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I did hear a while back that there would not be any publication about the matter, while it remains sub judice pending criminal proceedings.
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FRESH INDICTMENT SERVED IN RELATION TO ROSEPARK NURSING HOME
A new indictment has today 30 September 2008 been served in connection with the fire at Rosepark Nursing Home, Uddingston on 31st January 2004 which caused the death of 14 residents.
The indictment has been served on Thomas Balmer, Anne Balmer and Alan Balmer as the whole surviving partners of the now dissolved firm of Rosepark Care Home, which firm from the dates between 1st April 1996 and 28th February 2005 at 261 Viewpark, Uddingston, carried on the business or undertaking of a residential care home, and as such partners only.
This Indictment is directed against the whole surviving partners of the now dissolved firm. The whole surviving partners are indicted in their representative capacity only and not as individuals.
The Indictment has also been served on Croftbank House Limited, formerly Balmer Care Homes Limited, Campbell House, 126 Drymen Road, Bearsden, Glasgow which operates a care home at Croftbank House, Old Mill Road, Uddingston G71 7JB.
This Indictment is served following on the decision of the Appeal Court on 25th July 2008 that the Crown could not proceed further with the previous indictment against the now dissolved firm of Rosepark Care Home. In Scots Law, a firm is a separate legal person distinct from the partners of whom it is composed. The Appeal Court held that on dissolution of the firm there was a complete cessation of the persona of the partnership (that is the separate legal person) and that a dissolved firm did not retain a limited persona for the purposes of criminal prosecution which could be prosecuted in its own name.
The Indictment will call at a Preliminary Hearing at the High Court of Justiciary in Glasgow on the 30th October 2008.
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Looks like the prosecution has failed again
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8057749.stm
seems unbelivable that following 14 deaths no action can be taken.
I wonder what Dr Anne Everton would say.
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Whilst in Scottish Law, the attempt to prosecute the registered partnership has again failed. They are going to hold a fatal accident Inquiry into the event. Perhaps instead of pursuing a criminal conviction, they should have thought of the families sooner and tried to find out what had gone wrong.
No one yet knows whether a crime was committed or not.(CRIME - an act committed in violation of a law). Hopefull ythe FAI will tell us that.