| Corporate Manslaughter Case Begins |
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A company has denied unlawfully killing a worker in the first prosecution of a business for corporate manslaughter under new laws. Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Ltd denies unlawfully killing 27-year-old geologist Alexander Wright when the trench he was working in collapsed as he took soil samples. Mr Wright, from Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, was killed at a development site in Brimscombe Lane, near Stroud. Rescue workers took two days to recover his body from under several tonnes of mud and a post-mortem examination showed he died from traumatic asphyxia. The prosecution is taking place under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, that came into force in April 2008. The penalty under the legislation is an unlimited fine, if found guilty. |