ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses semi-structured interviews with documentary sources and seeks to locate the disasters and their legal processes in a broader legal, political and economic context, as well as focusing critically on concepts, principles and operation from disaster law. It deals with two major themes - the development and challenges of bringing multi-party actions and the principles, caselaw and policy issues of negligence and nervous shock this century. The book explores the reality of criminal liability in practice – the principles, policies, attitudes and resourcing of both statutory duties in health and safety and reckless manslaughter. It discusses an overview of the principles and key cases of reckless manslaughter in Anglo-Welsh law. The book describes the foundations for the research by providing a critical overview of two official inquiries into death – the coroner’s inquest and the public inquiry.
