2024-02-06 08:42:17
For those who have lost a loved one following a workplace accident, recognition of employer liability is essential. But the proceedings, whether criminal or civil, sometimes turn into an obstacle course, or even drag on for years, adding to the pain of the families. Fabienne Bérard, from the Familles collective: stop death at work, cites the example of Fanny Maquin, who lost her rope access husband, Vincent, twelve years ago. And who has still not gone to court to be compensated. “As is often the case, there were a large number of hearing postponements, she explains. The opposing lawyer highlights that, since that time, she has rebuilt a family unit and that the damage cannot be established in the same way…”
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Any fatal workplace accident is followed by an investigation by the labor inspectorate (which must take place within twelve hours), and the gendarmerie or police. Since 2019, the two institutions can carry out a joint investigation, but this is still rare. And often, the inspection investigation lasts several months, because there is a lack of staff to carry out immediate findings, interview witnesses or even request documents from the company.
These investigations make it possible to determine whether the employer is criminally liable. If the health and safety rules have not been respected, the labor inspectorate notifies the prosecutor, who is the only one who can open a procedure.. “Therefore, the floor has three possibilities, explains lawyer Ralph Blindauer, who often accompanies families. Either the case is dismissed, or a judicial investigation with an investigating judge is opened, because the case is considered complex, or, most commonly, one or more people are summoned to appear before the criminal court. »
A negligible amount
In the event of criminal prosecution, the employer is frequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter as a legal entity – which is unsatisfactory for the victims, and little deterrent. The fine is in fact a maximum of 375,000 euros, a negligible amount for a large group. The employer is more rarely convicted as a natural person, because it is difficult to identify the person responsible for security – the penalty incurred is then imprisonment.
In the case of civil proceedings, recognition of an “inexcusable fault” on the part of the employer allows beneficiaries (spouses, children or ascendants) to obtain an increase in their pension, as well as compensation for their moral damage. The fault is characterized when the company exposed its employee to a danger of which he was, or should have been, aware and when it did not take the necessary measures to protect him from it.
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