Barrow in Furness council architect Gillian Beckingham has been found not guilty of manslaughter following the death of seven people after an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in 2002.
However, she was fined £15,000 and the council was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay costs of £90,000.
This is the second time that Beckingham has stood trial for manslaughter: the jury failed to reach a majority verdict in the first trial.
The jury in the first trial did not find Beckingham guilty of manslaughter because so many other parties had admitted to making mistakes that contributed to the outbreak.
The prosecution follows health and safety failings at Forum 28 theatre and arts venue in Barrow, where the design services manager failed to ensure maintenance of building’s cooling towers.
Source
Building Sustainable Design
