The first case tried under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has ended with the defendants being fined £385,000.

The prosecution followed the death of a workman in September 2008 when a deep trench in which he was working collapsed on him.

A corporate manslaughter prosecution could be the tip of the iceberg as the directors and officers involved could theoretically then be prosecuted and fined under separate health and safety legislation - the fine could be substantial if a death is involved.

Businesses should ensure their employer and public liability insurances include defence costs against corporate manslaughter and health and safety prosecutions and that an adequate limit applies.

£1m is typical and should apply across both corporate manslaughter and health and safety prosecutions.

Fines are not insurable as that is considered to be against the public interest.

Looking at the wider picture, an unsuccessfully defended prosecution may result in the insurer being unable to avoid settling any claim for compensation made by or on behalf of the injured person.

Such payments can only lead to the possibility of increases in premium at next renewal of the policy concerned.

In addition, any insurer considering the renewal terms and conditions to be applied to a prosecuted company will be looking very closely at what changes have been made in that company's procedures and their attitude towards health and safety generally.

Insurers will require convincing that lessons have been learned and implemented.

The critical point is that health and safety is not merely a 'tick box' administrative process - it is an essential and statutory requirement for any business to take all steps to minimise the risk of injury to its workforce and must be deeply embedded in the company culture from the top down.

Anything less is unacceptable.