As an explosion at a Surrey factory leaves eight people hospitalised, an investigation is underway into the tragedy of the four Gleision Colliery miners who lost their lives last month when the roof above them apparently collapsed and a devastating rush of water flooded their working area.
As the government, police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) work together to establish a cause for the incident, it is possible that the private mine owners could be included as part of the investigation process.
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, businesses can be prosecuted should an employee be fatally injured whilst working. Businesses convicted under the Act can be the subject of a hefty and unlimited fine reflecting society's disapproval and the loss to the families as well as the level of failure incurred.
Since the Act came into force in 2008 there have been only two prosecutions. The first successful prosecution in February 2011 saw Gloucestershire-based business Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings fined £385,000 after it was found guilty of gross breach of duty. The firm was found to be grossly negligent in asking geologist Alexander Wright to go into an unsafe 12ft pit that collapsed and crushed him to death.
A second prosecution is currently underway in Manchester, after a man feel through a roof at his workplace. Lion Steel Equipment Limited, which specialises in the production of storage equipment, is being prosecuted following the death of Steven Berry in May 2008 and could face a fine running into hundreds of thousands if found guilty.
Globally about 2 million people die annually in work related deaths and recent statistics from the HSE show that UK workplace deaths in the first half of 2011 have increased by 20% - an alarming statistic that employers should take seriously.
And it isn't just big business that needs to sit up and take notice - smaller companies should be wary that the stakes are higher than they have ever been before; if they are prosecuted and receive an unlimited fine at the end of it, then that will pose a significant risk to their viability and could even threaten to put some of them out of business altogether.
It is vital that corporate bodies of all sizes need to ensure that health and safety measures stay at the top of their list of priorities; they cannot afford to be slack about their obligations under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act.
If all the proper systems are in place, the owner has little to fear from a proper investigation. We don't yet know the cause of death for those tragic Welsh miners, but one thing is for sure, if any safety shortcuts have been taken, then the regulators will obviously treat the consequences of the incident very seriously indeed.