Verdict - Collapsed fire escape in Kassel: site manager sentenced
After a 22-year-old man lost his life almost two years ago due to the collapse of a ladder, the responsible construction site foreman has now been convicted of negligent manslaughter in conjunction with negligent bodily harm. He was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years of probation, and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 Euro, according to a spokesperson of the Amtsgericht Kassel.
The public prosecutor had accused the 69-year-old man from Lower Saxony of being responsible for the inadequate construction stability through the use of insufficient bolts and contributing to the cause of the collapse.
The 22-year-old man and two other men had entered the fire escape through the kitchen window of a second-story apartment located on the house facade, which was mounted there for smoking purposes. After a short time, the anchoring of the podium in the wall gave way and the construction collapsed. The men fell seven and a half meters into the depth. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
The 69-year-old construction site foreman, hailing from Lower Saxony, faced a court process in Kassel for his role in the ladder collapse incident that led to bodily injury and the tragic death of a 22-year-old man. Should he fail to comply with the probation conditions, he could face imprisonment. The public indictment alleged negligence in the use of insufficient bolts, contributing to the overall instability of the construction. The Hesse court handed down a suspended sentence and a fine, but the final judgments have yet to be deemed legally binding.
