Fall through fibre-cement roof: company boss gets prison time

07/06/2024 · Federal Supreme Court · VD · Fatal · 7B_62/2023

What happened Two workers trained on the job were replacing fibre-cement sheets, walking on the roof because the job could not be done from the lift. One stepped into an opening, went through the insulation and fell 9.4 m; he died the next day.

What the court decided First instance: 3 years, 18 months unsuspended. Appeal court cut it to 30 months (15 to serve). Federal Court dismissed both the defendant's and the prosecutor's appeals – final.

Why He had been warned repeatedly and knew the danger. The sentence also covers a separate road-traffic offence.

• Company director: convicted of negligent homicide, intentional breach of building rules (and a separate road-traffic offence), 30 months' custody: 15 to serve, 15 suspended (4 years' probation) + 60 day-fines of CHF 10 (total CHF 600), not suspended. Ignored repeated Suva warnings about falls through fibre-cement roofs.

Fibre-cement roofs are not walk-safe: crawling boards, nets, or work from below. If the method changes, re-assess the measures.

Source: entscheidsuche.ch (FR)