Bush fire victims Vs. SP AusNet – Civil law The survivors of the horrific Black Saturday fires, are suing the power company SP AusNet claiming its faulty equipment caused the disasters which lead to the death of 173 people. The lead plaintiff Ms Carol Matthews and an estimated 10,000 victims and relatives of the deceased, took the defendant SP AusNet to court for 500 million dollars in damages and personal distress. On the 7th of February 2009, a section of power lines located at Kilmore East broke and upon striking the ground, ignited a bushfire. The case came about after the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was caused by an ageing SP AusNet power line. The class action took place at the start …show more content…
SP AusNet's position during the trial, was that the conductor which broke and which initiated the fire was damaged by lightning, compromising its fail-safety design in a manner which was undetectable at the time. Evidence was brought to court from the CFA and the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. A test power line was set up to simulate the situation, where the conductor was broken and did not initiate a fire, however SP AusNet dismissed this evidence in the court, as the test was set up on private property without consent of the …show more content…
Manslaughter and any other form of murder are understood to be a criminal crime. This case is a criminal case a there is no dispute between two parties, but a crime where was committed such as killing someone, as a result Mr Marshall violated the common laws of Australia and the crime has been classified as a criminal
Stirling Bridge demonstrated strong moral principles when deciding how to best approach consumer injuries related to the Braveheart power tools line. STIRLING BRIDGE took the public interest to heart and exercised the utilitarian approach to serve the greatest good for the greatest number. Stirling Bridge exhausted substantial financial and labor resources to focus more on the well-bei...
On February 26th 1972, Dam 3 of the Buffalo Mining Company a subsidiary of the Pittston Coal Company, failed resulting in a flooding of the Buffalo Creek Hallow. The disaster caused property damage, wrongful death, and psychic impairment. West Virginia prohibited any dam built any dam built over “fifteen feet in height across any stream or watercourse without a prior determination by the state that it is safe” (15). The state’s failure to properly enforce this law gave Pittston the ability to claim the disaster was an act of God; this was supported by President Nixon who referred to this as a natural disaster (187). In his testimony Mr. Spotte, head of the Pittston Coal Group, stated the accident was a natural occurrence beyond the company’s control. However he admitted that this particular dam (3) was not built in the custom of the company other dams lacking a spillway system. This failure to ensure a standard constituted a negligent breach of duty (134-137).
In West Warwick Rhode Island, on February 20th, 2003, during the performance of the band Great White, a fire broke out that eventually claimed the lives of 100 people and injured an additional 200. The band’s tour manager arranged for, and ignited pyrotechnic props, large fireworks designed to display a shower of sparks. The sparks ignited foam soundproofing near stage. The fire spread quickly. Most were killed either in the crush to exit the building or overcome by fumes while trying to find an exit. The immediate cause was well documented due to witness reports and a videotape that was taken during the concert. In the period that followed the tragedy there were many attempts to fix blame. Following a Grand Jury investigation, several of the parties involved plead guilty to violations of the law and served or are currently sentences in prison.
On the fateful and unforgettable afternoon of June 17, 1972 Hotel Vendome experienced yet another fire. Actually it experienced several fires in different locations on this date. Electricians working on the first floor reported smoke coming from the upper floors, and a bartender reported smoke in the basement. All occupants in the basement café were safely escorted out, and 3 engine companies, 2 ladder companies, and 1 District Chief arrived on scene noticing ...
On March 25, 1911, 146 garment factory workers their lives in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. In less than an hour, these workers died from asphyxiation, burns, or jumping to their deaths in a futile attempt at escape (McGuire, 2011). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory the eighth through tenth floors of New York City’s Asch building, and employed approximately 700 workers, 500 of them young women and girls (McGuire, 2011). A fire quickly broke out on the eighth floor shortly before the end of the work day. Loose fabric was strewn about the floor and stuffed under equipment, providing kindling for the fire to quickly become an inferno. As women attempted to exit, they were met with locked doors and forced to find other means of escape, including jumping from the eight floor windows, climbing down elevator cables, and scampering down the fire escape - each route of escape tragically failed, costing many their lives. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is an example of how quickly dangerous and neglectful conditions can quickly take many lives, but it has also served as the impetus for great changes in workplace and fire safety codes and regulations, including the development of Fire Safety Codes, implementation of state-based worker’s compensation laws, and the formation of New York State’s Industrial Code. The impacts of these changes and many others are still felt today, more than 100 years later. There is, however, still work to be done in the area of workplace fire safety, as evidenced in the Kader Toy Factory fire and the Imperial Chicken Processing Plant fire.
Mr. Gardiner (respondent) brought proceedings against Ms. Marien (appellant) in the New South Wales District Court (NSWDC). Respondent claimed negligence on the basis of the appellant’s failure to be vigilant. Handed down 31 January 2013.
The work and safety conditions were terrible for these young women. Work environments were cramped, many of these young women were teenagers, and they would work 12 hours a day, everyday only getting paid $15/week. 4 elevators had access to the factory, but only one was fully working, and just to use that one they had to climb down a ladder just to reach it. If they ever needed to get out of the building in case of an emergency it would have taken them hours just to do so. This was an extremely unsafe environment for all these girls to be in.
Power lines, Lighting, machinery and Arsonist are confirmed causes of the Black Saturday Bushfires. The drought, the hot temperatures, strong winds and the other factors are said to be the cause of the black Saturday bushfires
This horrible incident took place in a theater where the audience was cast of 2000 women and children. School had been out for Christmas and that gave incentive to many of them to show up to the Wednesday matinee performance of Mr. Blue beard. Later during half way of the show, a spark from a spotlight fell down onto the curtains which caused the fire to start, having the curtain fall down onto those on the stage. The crowd bolted out in chaos, even though there were 27 exits, only a few were open for the audience and actors to storm out of there. This is because that the doors were locked, and the idea of having exits specifically for this type of situation had only originated after the terrible incident. The flame on the curtain grew due to the excessive amount of fuel it had (the stage). Nearly 600 (above 25%) had died inside the theater because of this faulty emergency escape structuring. Many then later died to severe burn injuries in the hospitals. Apparently, there were no fire detection nor suppression systems installed in the theater; the curtains didn’t close properly, the heat vents weren’t working well, the doors were either locked or didn’t open in the proper direction, and nor did they have any type of indication for those who were further away from the theater to easily look for the door. All these violations have placed the manager’s under indictment. But none of them were ever punished. And because of the mass amount in causalities, doors were then rigged so that they can open from the inside no matter what the situation was, and signs were placed on top of them indicating that doors were this direction ( as law would mandate it).
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire not only affected the city of New York, but also the rest of the country. It forever changed the way our country would look at safety regulations in factories and buildings. The fire proved to America what can and will happen if we over-look safety regulations and over-crowd buildings. Unfortunately, 146 lives are taken before we fully understand this concept.
...being held accountable, the city officials themselves were also held accountable because of improper safety regulations. Showing that the city itself should be at fault for not enforcing safety regulations for such things as fire escapes, that were not in working order. These unprecedented circumstances just lay down the blueprint for what is now the correct way to set regulations for industrial factory conditions.
In conclusion, on the night of September 25th, two beautiful churches burned and many other buildings were scorched by the flames. The fire brought fear to some residents who thought they would lose everything and exhaustion to the fire fighters. No deaths were reported, and only a few people were severely burned. It was a night that would not be forgotten easily by those who lived in the “Burning District.”
...he firm foresaw the significant probability of harm to firefighters using the training facility and acted to communicate the discovered risks to the government organization awarding them the contract. Communication was essential in persuading the government to address the safety issues because the site met the requirements set forth by law, reducing the perception of risk, and the design choice of replacing jet fuel with liquid propane created the unintended consequence of an increased risk that otherwise may have gone unnoticed if not for the actions of Giffels’ consulting firm. Giffels’ strategy to remain persistent in refusing to complete the contract and highlighting the significant risk his firm discovered proved successful when dealing with a client that at first appeared to have taken a minimalist approach by staying with the minimum requirements of the law.
A person who's accused of unlawful killing in a court of law may be faced with a manslaughter charge by the prosecutor. Since there are different scenario's in which a unlawful killing can occur, there are different charges that come with the type of circumstances that surround each case. That is, first and second degree murder charges come into play as the murderer in question will need to be measured up which will tell the public and or jury if his or her intension was premeditated or not. Moreover, the law uses a another general term called manslaughter which has it's own two divisions as well.
Arson is one of the oldest crimes recognized throughout the world. It is defined as the intentional and malicious burning of a structure or building (Montaldo). Arson can cost the lives of individuals and the damages can be costly. In 2010, there were about 260,600 fires (“Arson and Intentional Fires,” n.d.). Many of these fires were intentionally set. These fires have resulted in an estimated 390 deaths, 1,340 injuries, and $1.2 billion in damages (“Arson and Intentional Fires,” n.d.). Most of the fires have occurred outside, but most of the deaths, injuries, and losses occurred in structures, particularly in homes (“Arson and Intentional Fires,” n.d.). Arson is considered to be a property crime to law enforcement agencies, despite that the fires created by the arsonist can injure and kill many people. This paper will discuss the history of arson as well as explaining why arson is difficult to prove, why people commit it, and also provides specific case examples and suggestions on what people can do to reduce the risk of arson.