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Nigel DuPree
Member - 146 posts
Is that the death nell of equity and spirit ?
Is everything to be codified, defined as 'written' in the 'letter' of the law ?
Reasonable allows for the majority of people to be protected from themslves as in reality there will always be people, for whatever reason, that seam driven to find ways around safety features and where dealing with plant of machinery that may not be fully encased the practicle solution may be to separate the worker or operation from the hazard by distance.
Accidents are accidental there is alway a "chain of causation" and having removed or reduced foreseeable risk you are left with a crystal ball in terms of probability and unpredictable stupidity or plain willfull disreguard.
Which may be also included in statistical assessment by referral to record of harm / injury contained in case studies.
Usefull debate though that hopefully will lead to a reasonably practicable outcome.
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Eddie Taylor
Member - 4 posts
I think that Professor Frank Wright has got it right; the phrase "reasonably practicable" is defined in the English dictionary by reference to these two words, and is also understood and accepted to be "the requirements of an employers to balance the degree of risk to employees against the cost and inconvenience of overcoming it". Are we now going to see the Law Commission spend thousands of pounds of tax payers money, trying to interpret the English language, in order to come up with another tone of phrase that will challange legal minds in defence of their clients. This could lead to the "ever decreasing circles syndrome" with something or someone eventually disappearing.
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