The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, with decision no. 24417/2021, returns to address the delicate issue of the employer's liability in the event of a worker injury that is derived from a negligence of the same, but due to the lack of adequate professional training.
The case concerned the recognition of the criminal liability of the employer for the crime of manslaughter committed to the detriment of an employee, who died in the course of carrying out his duties due to the use of methods that are not perfectly adequate for the activities to perform.
The Supreme Court, after having recalled a passage of the second instance judgement (which confirmed the employer's conviction) where it was observed that "in a value judgment the greater agility or speed of work cannot exceed the necessary adoption of safety measures", The Court in fact established that" the employer who does not fulfill the information and training obligations imposed on him and his delegates is liable, by way of specific fault, for the accident caused by the negligence of the worker who, in carrying out of his duties, engages in imprudent conduct, since it is a direct and foreseeable consequence of the non-fulfillment of the training obligations and the fulfillment of these obligations is not excluded, nor can it be substituted, by the knowledge base of the worker, formed as a result of a long operational experience, or for the transfer of knowledge that commonly occurs in the collaboration between workers, also placed in a hierarchical relationship between them".
Avv. Francesco Bianchi
Dott.ssa Elisa Meyer
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