Safety Case Arguments
Any argument that an expert witness could formulate after an event needs to be considered prior to the event. A common law safety case is a documented demonstration by an organisation that all statutory, regulatory and common law requirements have been met. It consists of a number of arguments that demonstrate that all reasonable practicable precautions are in place based on the balance of the significance of the risk verses the effort required to achieve it. A common law safety case essentially ensures that due diligence is (seen to be) demonstrated, not that accidents / incidents won't happen. One of the best explanations of a Safety Case is below from the Rt Hon Lord Cullen (2001):
A safety case regime provides a comprehensive framework within which the duty holder's arrangements and procedures for the management of safety can be demonstrated and exercised in a consistent manner. In broad terms the safety case is a document - meant to be kept up to date - in which the operator sets out its approach to the safety management system which it undertakes to apply. It is, on the one hand, a tool for internal use in the management of safety and, on the other hand, a point of reference in the scrutiny by an external body of the adequacy of that management system - a scrutiny which is considered to be necessary for maintaining confidence on the part of the public.
The move towards common law safety case appears to be as a result of the adversarial legal system. Employers in Australia have a common law duty to provide a safe workplace for employees and the obligation of owners and occupiers of premises to ensure they are safe with respect to members of the public and the surrounding environment. Failure to ensure such may be negligent, and can lead to the significant costs associated with common law claims. It may also lead to statutory penalties for 'responsible' individuals depending on local legislation and regulations.
Argument paradigms to show due diligence are summarised in the diagram below and are detailed in the Engineers Australia Safety Guideline online.
Each of the methods has different strengths and weaknesses depending on the culture of the organisation and the nature of a particular issue(s) of concern.
Any argument that an expert witness could formulate after an event needs to be considered prior to the event. A common law safety case is a documented demonstration by an organisation that all statutory, regulatory and common law requirements have been met. It consists of a number of arguments that demonstrate that all reasonable practicable precautions are in place based on the balance of the significance of the risk verses the effort required to achieve it. A common law safety case essentially ensures that due diligence is (seen to be) demonstrated, not that accidents / incidents won't happen. One of the best explanations of a Safety Case is below from the Rt Hon Lord Cullen (2001):
A safety case regime provides a comprehensive framework within which the duty holder's arrangements and procedures for the management of safety can be demonstrated and exercised in a consistent manner. In broad terms the safety case is a document - meant to be kept up to date - in which the operator sets out its approach to the safety management system which it undertakes to apply. It is, on the one hand, a tool for internal use in the management of safety and, on the other hand, a point of reference in the scrutiny by an external body of the adequacy of that management system - a scrutiny which is considered to be necessary for maintaining confidence on the part of the public.
The move towards common law safety case appears to be as a result of the adversarial legal system. Employers in Australia have a common law duty to provide a safe workplace for employees and the obligation of owners and occupiers of premises to ensure they are safe with respect to members of the public and the surrounding environment. Failure to ensure such may be negligent, and can lead to the significant costs associated with common law claims. It may also lead to statutory penalties for 'responsible' individuals depending on local legislation and regulations.
Argument paradigms to show due diligence are summarised in the diagram below and are detailed in the Engineers Australia Safety Guideline online.
Each of the methods has different strengths and weaknesses depending on the culture of the organisation and the nature of a particular issue(s) of concern.