What is “gross negligence manslaughter”?
A company acts through the human agency of its directors, managers and staff. Currently in order to convict a company of manslaughter it must be shown that a causal link existed between a grossly negligent act or omission by a person who is the “controlling mind” of the company and the immediate cause of death. The principle assumes that there are certain directors or senior managers of the company whose acts and states of mind can properly be regarded as those of the company. Those persons are to be identified as those who are entrusted with the powers of the company. Accordingly the conviction of a company for manslaughter in the absence of evidence establishing the guilt of an individual for the same crime is not possible. Usually a person can only be a controlling mind if they are a director or higher, carrying out the functions of management, with full discretion to act independently. It will be necessary to determine whether an individual is a controlling person and to establish
