Executive summary
Legal issues are important factors to be considered when organizing commercial events. Negligence could lead to charges and legal suits that are detrimental to the growth of organizations. It is always important to understand the environmental factors that influence businesses. In this paper, Hillsborough Stadium disaster event will be described and a brief discussion of the political and social-cultural environments will be included. Hillsborough disaster was responsible for the death of 96 Liverpool fans that were crushed as they tried to get into the stadium to watch a match between Liverpool and Nottingham forest.
The main cause of the disaster was lack of control proper by police officers manning the ground. Moreover, legal issues pertaining to health and safety as well as duty to care are explained. Health and safety issues refer to appropriate measures to ensure that the safety and health of all the people at the event is not at risk. Another important issue is the duty of care. Employers and event organizers are expected to take all the measures necessary to ensure that employees, customers and the general public health and safety are not threatened by the organizations undertakings. Failure to do so may be interpreted as negligence. However, employers are only liable it was their duty to care for the aggrieved party and if they did not exercise reasonable actions to control damage. The Hillsborough disaster would have been controlled if health and safety measures were taken.
Introduction
There are several legal issues that underpin the staging of commercial events. Event organizers are therefore advised to ensure that such issues are addressed when organizing the event and prior to the events kick-off. Failure to address such issues may result into disasters and accidents that may also lead to legal suits and irrecoverable losses. Health and safety act 1974 outlines some of the major legal issues that may arise in organizations and also gives guidelines on how to prevent such things from happening.
Employers also have duty of care towards their employees, customers as well as the general public. This paper will give an overview of a disaster that happened in 1989 (Hillsborough disaster), discuss duty to care, health and safety legal issues that underpin the staging of commercial events and finally give recommendations on how the disaster could have been controlled.
Political and social-cultural environment
The event chosen in this case is a football match that led to a disaster in 1989. In a football match, two football teams play the game with each team hoping that it will win. Other than the players, fans attend to cheer their favorite teams hoping that they will win. Football fans are comprised of both genders whether young, old or youths. When a major football game is scheduled to take place such as the English Premier League or world Cup, it goes without saying that many fans attend to watch the match live.
However this is not always the case due to various limitations. Football matches are associated with politics just like any other commercial event. Politics associated with football include compensation for players. Football clubs argue out that they should be compensated anytime their key players are taken to play outside or when they have accidents or suffer injuries (The Political Economy of Football).
Hooliganism is one of the political ties associated with football. The term hooliganism in football refers to violent and disorderly behaviors exhibited by fans during a football match (football hooliganism). It is common to find football fans from a specific team fighting the fans from the teams they oppose or even beating the players. It normally happens when fans from a winning team behaves in a manner to suggest that they are mocking or insulting the fans from the losing team. However, this is not the sole cause and such behaviors could arise even without good cause.
Football matches influence the social and cultural ways of people. Such events act as a bridge that brings people together to watch the match either live or on screen. During football matches, some people go to clubs to watch the match as they drink while others take it as an opportunity to take their friends and families for a treat by way of paying their tickets. It is at such events that people manage to meet others from different nationalities, races as well as ethnic backgrounds.
Popular football matches such as the English premier league may lead to adoption of new cultures and ways of living as people interact with others from different cultures. Football fans engage in other social activities such as gambling and wagering based on the outcome of the game. Such activities are detrimental to the society since some people spend all their money and savings on such activities instead of investing in more productive ventures.
Hillsborough disaster
It was on 15th April 1989 when the Hillsborough disaster happened. Two English football teams (Liverpool and Nottingham forest) were scheduled to have a match at Sheffield Wednesday’s, Hillsborough stadium at 3 pm. However, the match was not played to the end as the event is to blame for the death of 96 Liverpool fans on the Leppings Lane Terrace. On the material day, it happened that there was traffic congestion emanating from roadwork’s that were in progress on the m62 motorway and this was partially to blame for the late arrival of the funs(Fact-Sheet Two). Funs from either side were to take their positions in different sides of the ground as allocated.
Nottingham Forest fans were to seat on Spion Kop end of the ground that had a capacity of 21000 as opposed to the liver pool’s Leppings end that had a capacity of 14600. This initial arrangement was also questionable since Liverpool was believed to have more fans than the Nottingham Forest. At around 2.30 pm, a sizeable crowd had started to pile up outside the Leppings lane but the police did not take any measure or precaution to manage the crowd (Fact-Sheet Two).
The crowd continued to grow bigger and bigger resulting to congestion at the front. The number of funs that arrived on the material day was larger than expected since even those without tickets had come and some were at the forefront. The situation became more complex since those without tickets were denied entry and could not exit due to congestion resulting to crushing at the front. The match kicked off at exactly 3pm and the excitement of the fans already inside cheering the teams caused additional pressure to those who were still outside trying to get in. The crowd continued to build up and there was excess congestion as each fan tried to get in.
Police officers noted that the congestion was becoming unbearable and requested the match commander (Duckinfield) to have gate C opened. Though there were some delays, the gate was eventually opened and allowed about 2000 fans to get inside. Fans got into the tunnel that led to pens three and four that were most preferred by majority. This worsened the situation since the pens were already carrying beyond capacity before the kickoff. The more fans streamed in, the more the congestion got worse causing crushing at the front near the steel perimeter fence. No action was taken and fans at the back continued to push their way forward while fans crushing at the perimeter fence started to show signs of asphyxiation (Fact-Sheet Two).
The crushing took a fatal turn forcing some fans to climb up the fence as they tried to escape and some of them received assistance from other spectators. The game kicked off as scheduled and by that time, nothing had been done to arrest the situation. Fans shouted to the police officers requesting them to have the gates opened since the situation was becoming unbearable but their shouting landed onto deaf years as the police officers did not do anything. Five minutes after the match kick-off, some fans managed to draw the attention of Liverpool goal keeper who in turn notified the referee. The match stopped at exactly 3.06 pm and urgent and desperate measures were taken to arrest the situation.
Advertising hoardings were taken off to act as stretchers as the situation was already out of hand. The incident resulted to 96 deaths of Liverpool fans both young and old and from all genders. Others got severe injuries that they had to live with while others got traumatized to an extent that they committed suicide after some years since they could not live with such trauma. Police officers made allegations that the fans drank excessively and forced the gate open by force and therefore they were to blame for the disaster (Fact-Sheet Two). However, after thorough investigations, it was clear that the police were to blame since they did not proper control as required.
Police offers barred the way when Liverpool fans tried to penetrate through Nottingham in an attempt to get the injured fans to the ambulances. Forty four ambulances arrived at the scene but police officers barred all of them but one from entering. As a result, most of the causalities never got to the hospital and therefore ended up dying before reaching the hospital. According to the report by Taylor, the disaster was mainly caused by lack of control by the police and partially by the design of the poorly maintained stadium (Fact-Sheet Two).
Legal issues
There are various legal issues that underpin the staging of commercial events. In this case, two legal issues will be discussed: healthy and safety act 1974 as well as duty of care. The two issues will be discussed in an interlinked manner since they are almost related. Health and safety measures are the measures that should be taken to ensure that people’s health and safety are not threatened. Policies to see the same is adhered should have the following features: planning, organization, control, monitoring and review (watt, 2003). Duty of care requires employers or event organizers to take necessary and reasonable precaution to ensure that their employees and even non employees health and safety are not threatened. Failure to comply by this requirement may be interpreted as negligence and can be sued in a court of law (Stott & Felix, 1997).
However, it is important to note that a case filed against negligence does not mean that the defendant will always be guilty even if he was negligent. Negligence only applies if the defendant had a duty to care i.e. it was his or her responsibility to use all reasonable precautions to ensure that an accident or injury did not happen. Negligence must also come from one party who is the defendant otherwise if both the plaintiff and the defendant were negligent, it is implied that none of them has a reason to sue each other in a court of law (Stott & Felix, 1997). Donoghue V. Stevenson is a legal case that was ruled based on the English Tort law.
Donoghue happened to be bought for a drink by her friend in a restaurant. There were remains of a decomposing snail at the bottom of the bottle and when Donoghue saw it, he later complained of stomachache. Doctor’s diagnosis showed that he suffered from shock and gastroenteritis. However, Stevenson (manufacturer) was not held liable by the court since there was no contractual relationship between him and the plaintiff. Stevenson had a contractual relationship with Donoghue’s friend who bought the drink and since she did not get hurt, the court ruled out that Stevenson was not liable
Organizations should ensure that their staff whether permanent, temporary or casuals are fully competent and competently carry out duties assigned to them. They should be able to follow the health and safety measures applicable to the organizations. It’s the organizers duty to ensure that the staff is equipped with the necessary resources in terms of skills, equipments and time. Organizations should ensure that employees have the right qualifications and their performance is not questionable. This can be done by keeping records of performance appraisals that can reasonably prove that employees have the capacity to carry out undersigned jobs (Kessler 2009).
Employees should be in good health and of good mental capacity such that negligence by employees can not be blamed on mental disorders or weak employees resulting from illness. It is the employer’s duty to make sure that employees are not overworked since this may be detrimental to their health and hence have adverse implications on their performance. According to regulation 7 of MHSWR as cited in Collins (2007), employees should receive ample training and be advised on how to manage risk and reduce hazards. When dealing with electronic devices or other equipments that need expertise to operate, user manuals provided by the manufacturers should be used. It the problem is complicated, assistance should always be sought from experts in the industry.
Commercial environments should meet certain requirements that give an assurance that the environment is safe and does not pose danger to health and safety of the occupants. Such places should be clean, have adequate ventilation and illumination, free from bad odour and poisonous gases. Entry and exit routes should be clearly defined and always ensure that there are emergency doors. Organizations should ascertain that such buildings are constructed by qualified and experienced contractors. Leaking pipes and sewer systems should be addressed as soon as they are discovered. Incase of open holes, they should be field or covered to and have signs to show that it is a dangerous ground.
Facilities such as swimming pools should be fenced, manned at all times and have posters or signs to alert new comers that there is a swimming pool. According to OHS Act as cited in Davis & Cumberlege, (2007) employer owes duty of care to inform his employees and other people about the necessary precautions to avoid accidents and disasters. They should have hazard control measures and ensure that equipments likely to cause hazards are operated in the presence of an expert.
Health and safety representatives and committees can be put in place to carry put regular inspection in the organization and address matters relating to health and safety. Such committees should attend regular trainings to refresh on the safety measures and learn new techniques. All organizations should ensure that they have a first aid tool kit and if the nature of business dealings is very risky, an ambulance would be recommended. Accidents resulting from employer’s negligence commands compensation by the employer and call for legal suits in which the employer is liable.
Health and safety act requires organizations to have safety policy statements and make sure that all employees are made aware of their existence (Collins, 2007). Safety policy statements such as evacuation procedure in case of fire should be printed and pinned at a place where they are visible. They should be written in big font and easy to understand language to ensure that any reasonable and prudent person can read and see them. Event organizers should also have fire extinguishers place at strategic points and giving directions of how to use them. Event organizers should keep records that can reasonably proof that they had taken all the precaution safety measures incase of a fire accident otherwise they would be liable in a court of law for negligence (Collins, 2007).
If a commercial event involves food handling whether prepared by the organizers or from outside catering, the organizers ought to ensure that food health and safety measures are adhered to. If food is prepared within, the right ingredients, procedures and hygiene should be observed. Organizers can eliminate litigation possibilities by labeling the food and caution where necessary (Cross & Miller 2011). For example, if various types of meat are to be served inform of a buffet, organizers should ensure that the bowls containing the meat are labeled. This would ensure that people just eat what is good for them and avoid reactions. Outside catering should only be sought from qualified and legally approved caterers.
Organizers should ensure that they have documents or evidence that can reasonably proof that the caterers chosen are competent. However, despite all these food safety measures, cases of food poisoning may arise. Event organizers should not admit liability until the plaintiff proofs that the food was contaminated and as a result, he or she fell sick. According to statute law states (McGuire), if a person can reasonably proof that the food sold to him was not fit for consumption, then he can sue for breach of implied warrant merchantability. Liebeck v. Mc Donald restaurant: the defendant was held liable by the court for serving coffee with extreme temperatures thus burning the plaintiff. The defendant was sued for breach of warranty with regard to goods being fit for the intended purpose and also for being defective.
Conclusion
Hillsborough disaster led to the death of many while other suffered severe injuries and trauma. Two football teams (Liverpool and Nottingham forest) were having a match at the Hillsborough stadium. Due to overcrowding and congestion, many liver pool fans were crushed at lapping lane terrace as they tried to find their way in. The police officers failed to perform their duty of manning the whole event hence the reason the event ended up being a fatal one.
Police officers owed the fans duty of care which they neglected and should have been charged in a court of law. Safety and health measures were not adequately utilized since some exits remained closed even after the police were notified of the situation. Health and safety legal issues that underpin staging of commercial events include but are not limited to; workplace health and safety requirements such as first aid kits, staff competency, food healthy and safety issues as well as written policy statements on health and safety measures.
Recommendations
Hillsborough disaster could have been avoided or at least controlled if some health and safety measures had been put into consideration when organizing the event. The main cause of the disaster was police control although there were additional factors that led to the disaster. Organizers should have made sure that police hired to man the ground were competent enough and had the capacity to man the ground. More often than not, footfall fans are difficult to control and manage due to their hooliganism behavior. After realizing that there was traffic congestion emanating from the roadwork’s that were in progress, the match kick off should have been delayed to first of all ease the crowd that was already piling up outside.
Enough police officers should have been deployed to ensure that the fans made proper ques at the entry gate to avoid congestion and overcrowding. Since there was an allegation that the fans were drunk and misbehaving, such fans should have been evacuated by the police officers to ensure peace and order. Other gates should have been opened when it was noted that the crowd was becoming unmanageable. This would have reduced the influx of people outside before the match kick-off.
There were allegations stadium design also contributed to the crushing. it is fact that the stadium lacked adequate turnstiles at the Leppings lane end. Crush barriers erected were also wanting in terms of quality. As much as these were just secondary factors linked to the disaster, such issues should have been addressed before the match.
Additional turnstiles at the Leppings lane end should have been put up. Organizers should have ensured that there were officers inside the lane to direct fans on where to take their positions and reduce overcrowding in the third and fourth pens that were already beyond capacity before the kick-off. Though a minor factor, it was believed that liver pool had more funs than Nottingham forest yet Liverpool fans were allocated lane with less carrying capacity. Proper allocation should have been done based on the estimated number of fans expected since data was available from the number of tickets sold.
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