The temporary worker fell from the second floor on a construction site near Montpellier: the company condemned

“Un cumul d'infractions et de légèreté”, a observé l'inspection du travail. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

The 44-year-old man suffered numerous fractures during this work accident which occurred in Saint-Jean-de-Védas in July 2020. The lack of safety equipment and supervision were pointed out during the hearing.    

"Monsieur is a miracle", estimated before the criminal court the lawyer of this worker building victim of a 6 m fall, in July 2020 on a construction site in Saint-Jean-de-Védas, near Montpellier. During the hearing this Monday, February 5, Me Nicolas Gallon explained how"the embankment of loose earth and sand" on which his client landed probably saved his life. That day, the 44-year-old temporary worker was carrying out finishing work on a balcony, on the second floor of a residence under construction, when he fell from his stepladder.

Multiple fractures of the back and pelvis

Presenting fractures of the pelvis, ribs and vertebrae, he was urgently transported to the Lapeyronie University Hospital. He will benefit from three months of total incapacity for work, and remains today ;#39;hui "discomfort walking and persistent pain", underlines his lawyer. The company which hired him had to answer for "unintentional injuries through the clearly deliberate violation of a safety obligation".& ;nbsp;

The procedure establishes that the forty-year-old was with his back to the air, while a protective bar was missing. If the victim holds a certificate to work at height, the labor inspectorate, represented at the hearing, denounces "an accumulation of ;#39;violations and levity" with regard to security rules. The prosecutor, Marie-François Treil, cites a stepladder without a strap, or even the absence of a safety net. The lack of mastery of the French language of the victim, Spanish of Moroccan origin, is also targeted, as is the supervision: "The site manager , temporary worker, had only been present on the site for three days". The civil party's lawyer adds that of the five employees present on the site on the day of the events, all worked on a temporary basis.

The defense denounces the interim trial

The employer's lawyer refuses to allow temporary work to be put on trial here, assimilated according to him, during the debates, & ;nbsp;at "bad social philosophy". Likewise, he does not accept that the prosecution highlights another work accident that occurred a short time ago in the same company, and calls for respect for the presumption of #39;innocence. He asks "which breach has a sufficient causal link with the accident", and pleads for release.

The court nevertheless found the company guilty and fined it €20,000. The victim's request for damages will be processed before another jurisdiction.  

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