Whitlam’s Law – Sentencing of Gary Green

Scala is assisting with media liaison on the tragic case of Harry Whitlam, an 11 year old boy who was struck and killed by a reversing tractor on 9th August 2013.

The tractor was driven by Gary Green, a self-employed farmhand who was found to be over twice the legal drink-drive limit at the time of the accident at Swithens Farm, Leeds. The police were unable to bring a criminal prosecution under the drink-drive laws because the accident took place on private, not public land. Instead, Mr Green was prosecuted by the HSE under Health and Safety at Work legalisation, for which the sentencing powers available to the court are considerably lower.

The Case

On Tuesday 13^th December 2016, our client Switalskis Solicitors supported the Family of Harry Whitlam at Leeds Crown Court where Gary Green was sentenced to 16 months and 2 weeks after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety legislation over the incident.

The driver of the tractor, Gary Green was twice over the legal drink-drive limit when tested at the police station two hours after the collision. Expert evidence revealed that he had consumed the equivalent of 13 pints of beer up to 2am on the morning of the accident.

A breath test at the scene of the accident showed a reading of 90mg, with the later test at the police station showing a reading of 74mg. The legal limit for a drink driving offence under the Road Traffic Act is 35mg.

It was also revealed during the court hearing on Tuesday, that Green had two previous drink driving convictions. This was something that was not known to the family until the sentencing hearing.

The HSE brought a prosecution under Section 2 (3) of the Health and Safety Work Act, with the maximum sentence available to the judge being two years.

Had the police been able to bring a criminal prosecution case, Gary Green would have been charged with ‘Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs’, section 3A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which holds a maximum sentence of 14 years.

Whitlam’s Law

The sentencing has highlighted the need for a review of the penalties available under Health and Safety legislation for offences of this type.

Harry’s mother Pamela Whitlam, her family and Switalskis Solicitors are launching the campaign ‘Whitlam’s Law’.

Whitlam’s Law is calling for the law to be changed to:

1. A) Alter the drink-driving laws to cover offences that take place on private, not just public land.
2. B) Amend the sentencing tariff for HSE prosecutions of this nature to bring them in line with criminal sentencing powers.

#Whitlamslaw – https://www.change.org/p/the-road-traffic-act-1988-whitlamslaw-make-drink-driving-laws-apply-to-vehicles-being-driven-on-private-land

Scala are handling media liaison for both Switalskis and the Whitlam Family.

Please contact us with any queries: office@scala.uk.com, 0114 4070159.