Workplace accident: the case against the firm’s client dismissed

The position of a client of Studio Penale Bellavista has been closed with a dismissal of the case (archiviazione) in the criminal proceedings concerning the serious Casteldaccia incident, in which, in May 2024, five workers carrying out maintenance on a sewer pipeline lost their lives.

The client — the legal representative of one of the companies involved in the contracting chain — had been entered on the register of persons under investigation as part of the inquiry conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese into alleged negligence connected with the accident. Following the investigations, his position was severed from that of the other suspects and closed with a dismissal.

The defence strategy

The client was defended by Avv. Mario Bellavista, who handled the defence from the earliest stages of the preliminary investigations.

The defence focused on a detailed reconstruction of the chain of contracts and on the precise identification of the positions of guarantee (posizioni di garanzia): who, in practice, held the powers of organisation, management and control over the works at the time of the events, and what safety obligations actually fell on each party in the chain.

This documentary and technical work, carried out in close cooperation with the experts, made it possible to define precisely the boundaries of the client’s position in relation to the activities from which the accident arose.

Why the position of guarantee is decisive

In proceedings concerning workplace accidents, criminal liability is not presumed to lie with whoever holds a formal office: it must be established in concrete terms, by verifying who actually held decision-making and spending powers, how tasks were divided between the principal, the contractor and the subcontractors, and what delegations of functions had been validly conferred.

It is on this ground — technical before it is procedural — that much of the defence is played out, and it is the reason why defence work from the preliminary investigation stage is often decisive.

A necessary clarification

The dismissal concerns solely the position of the firm’s client and does not affect the continuation of the proceedings against the other parties, which are still before the judicial authorities. What remains is the gravity of a case that cost five workers their lives, and which the firm regards with the respect that the memory of the victims demands.

Out of respect for the confidentiality of clients and of the parties involved, no names or company names connected with the proceedings are given.

Source: LiveSicilia