Fire, gas leak, water contamination, industrial accident… An incident or calamity like this can have a major impact on the health and safety of employees and on the environment. It can lead to devastating consequences for business operations and the continuation of business activities. In these situations, it is important to understand one’s own legal position as early as possible, both internally and externally.
We are active in cases where our clients — after the occurrence of an incident, a calamity or an industrial accident — have to deal with government regulators, various agencies and various companies and take steps to make the risks manageable and to prevent escalation. In this situation, we proactively advise on the administrative law aspects, the criminal law aspects and the civil liability aspects. Our three main areas of law intersect in these situations.
This integrated advice is aimed at preventing risks and limiting the consequences of an incident, a calamity or an industrial accident. The issues addressed relate to compliance, regulation and risk prevention (including the performance of internal company investigations), the harmonization of incident procedures and dealing with visits (whether planned or unexpected) from regulators, inspection services and other enforcement authorities. In this context, the responsibilities and liability of companies, directors, internal supervisors, de facto managers and clients are considerable. They may face criminal prosecution, administrative sanctions or damages claims.
We are a trusted partner for our clients in situations like this. We assist them in their dealings with various government bodies and enforcement authorities, including the police, the tax department’s financial and economic crime investigation unit (FIOD), the Dutch Labor Inspectorate (NLA), the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ), the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) and the Financial Supervision Office (BFT).
Where necessary, we also initiate and defend in legal proceedings. Administrative enforcement can include the imposition of an administrative fine or the shutdown of the company if continuation of its operations is considered to pose a serious danger to health and safety.
Criminal enforcement may include criminal investigations (especially in an environmental criminal law context) and prosecution. Tort liability and claims for damages may follow an incident or disaster.
Robert Crince le Roy
Frank van Ardenne
Remko Wijling
Olga de Vries
Laura Hinrichs
Ruben Nijk-Siebert
Esther van Brandwijk
Casper Jongsma
