Legal Professional Privilege – A quick summary for health and safety managers

It is not uncommon for lawyers to get calls from clients after an accident seeking legal advice and asking questions about legal professional privilege (Privilege). Unfortunately, by the time the phone call is made the benefits of Privilege can be lost, and information created by the organisation – thinking it was protected – is no longer covered by Privilege.

Privilege in the context of health and safety is complicated. In reality, it is very difficult to establish Privilege in health and safety related communications because they are usually created for a multitude of reasons, not for seeking legal advice.