Case dismissed for our client, the company administrator being investigated for a workplace accident on their premises.
The accident occurred on April 26, 2022, when an employee was using a disc grinder to reduce the diameter of a rod. The rod slipped into the grinder, causing the worker’s left hand to be caught, resulting in the amputation of the middle phalanges of the ring, middle, and index fingers.
The Labour Inspectorate launched an investigation to determine the causes of the accident and, if necessary, to propose corresponding sanctions against the company. Meanwhile, the Investigating Court also opened a criminal investigation, during which the judge agreed to take testimony from various witnesses and included numerous documents in the case file. The judge also agreed to summon the legal representative of the company in this case, the administrator, to give a statement as a suspect. The company’s administrator decided to hire SMK Lawyers to represent him in the criminal proceedings.
After our client testified and all further investigative steps were completed, SMK Lawyers requested that the case be dismissed, arguing that our client had committed no violations that could give rise to criminal liability, given that the company had proper occupational risk prevention measures and the administrator had appropriately delegated security responsibilities and decision-making to other company personnel.
The presiding judge of Investigating Court No. 1 in Sabadell issued an order on July 9, 2024, the result of a detailed review of the investigative file, which adopted SMK Lawyers’ arguments and ordered the dismissal of proceedings.