Firms are likely to face charges of corporate manslaughter if a court in Preston sets a precedent and finds a council guilty of manslaughter.

The bosses of large organisations could find themselves facing greater exposure to manslaughter charges if the prosecution in a court in Preston is successful.

Since the early 1990s it has been possible to prosecute an employer for manslaughter. But the case before Preston Crown Court represents the first time a council has been charged with manslaughter. If it is found guilty the council will face unlimited fines

The case centres on the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to charge an architect working for Barrow council with manslaughter and to prosecute the council itself for corporate manslaughter because the architect was far enough up the chain of command at the council to be part of its directing mind..

Ann Minogue, a partner in solicitor Linklaters, said: “The decision to prosecute [the council] is itself a landmark .”

Minogue said if the council is found guilty it will face “unlimited fines”.

If the council’s prosecution is successful, the case is likely to have implications for all firms including designers. Minogue said: “The implications are that employers of an individual who is grossly negligent could face prosecution in addition to the individual concerned”.

The case, brought by the Crown Prosecution Service against Barrow council and a council architect Gillian Beckingham, follows Britain’s biggest outbreak of legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia, which left seven people dead and 172 seriously ill.

The architect was employed by the council. She has denied unlawfully killing the seven victims of the disease because of gross negligence. The prosecution has alleged she was principally responsible for their deaths because she took it on herself to cancel a maintenance contract for an arts centre’s rooftop cooling tower. She then negotiated a new maintenance contract that omitted water treatment at of the plant at the Forum 28 centre. This created almost perfect breeding conditions for the legionnaires' disease. The case continues

In a separate case, three men have been charged with manslaughter following the deaths of two people at the Copthorne Hotel in Cardiff. They will appear in court in April. It has been reported that the men worked for a Lancashire-based company that installed a humidification system.

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