July 30, 2018
At Truro Crown Court, Jonathan Bird has been acquitted of causing the death of Christine Dew. Adam Wiseman QC was instructed for the defence. The defendant, a farmer, had been spreading slurry in Cornwall. After completing his working day he secured a slurry spreader to the rear of his tractor. An arm of the spreader subsequently fell and killed the deceased. The case centred around expert evidence as to the safety of the spreader. The jury had to determine whether the defendant’s conduct was to blame for the death; whether there was a mechanical defect in the spreader or alternatively, absent a defect in the performance of the spreader, whether the culpability was in the manufacture and design.