Hi all, before reading my thread you may wish to see (if not already aware) the following link. http://www.shponline.co....ed-in-chemical-fire-case In summary, the defence's barrister managed to secure a 25% reduction (£87k) in the HSE's prosecution costs. Whilst this is commendable, I'd be interested to establish the views of other "health and safety" professionals. I had personal experience of this incident. What happened that day managed to force closure to many businesses locally for over two days, many a week or so. We were extremely lucky that no-one was injured or killed, in particular the nearby children's day nursery and the local Manchester University Campus in Crewe. I'd be interested to hear as to whether the potential compensation costs were also considered with the loss of business (for days) by the judge? Sorry, I'm not from a legal background but I know it was mayhem when that happened and we were all very lucky!

All of the matters you have raised are cover by the fine. The debate (from the SHP article) was about how much the HSE should be able to claim as it’s legal costs (investigating, preparing the case etc). How much damage was caused or how much could have been caused have no bearing on the costs claimed.