UK: Crown Prosecution Service confirms it has given advice to police
Airlines that carried people who later died of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) could face manslaughter charges, according to an article by The Independent’s legal affairs specialist.
Robert Verkaik, writing in today’s edition of the newspaper, reports that police in the west country are investigating complaints from families whose relatives died after long-haul flights, while the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has also been asked to give advice on the matter.
The CPS speculates that if any of the prosecutions are successful, senior directors of the airlines involved could face long prison sentences and the airlines could be heavily fined – but Verkaik says the CPS has traditionally found it difficult to secure convictions for corporate manslaughter because it is difficult to identify a single person who can be said to represent the “mind and will” of the company.
The newspaper identifies British Airways as one of the airlines involved; BA told The Independent that that company was not aware of any criminal proceedings and did not make any further comment.
