THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE ALSO REQUESTED COMPENSATION OF 225,000 EUROS FOR THE CHILDREN

Rosa accepts 3 months in prison for reckless homicide in the construction of Princesa Yaiza

Along with him, the heads of two other subcontracted companies have been convicted for the works, in which a worker died due to lack of security measures and "deficiencies" in the machinery

April 5 2018 (12:52 WEST)
Rosa accepts 3 months in prison for reckless homicide in the construction of the Princesa Yaiza
Rosa accepts 3 months in prison for reckless homicide in the construction of the Princesa Yaiza

The businessman Juan Francisco Rosa has accepted a three-month prison sentence for a crime of reckless homicide, which took place in July 2000, when a worker died during the construction of the Princesa Yaiza hotel. Along with Rosa, the heads of two companies that were subcontracted for the work, Juan Pablo Pazos Gil and Juan Gaspar Rodríguez Peña, have been convicted, who also reached an agreement of conformity this Wednesday to avoid the trial that should have been held this week.

Initially, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested three years in prison for each of the accused, in addition to the payment of compensation of 225,000 euros to the two children of the deceased, who were minors when the events occurred. However, by accepting the agreement just before the trial began, the prison sentence has been reduced to three months, which would mean that they can avoid serving it.

Regarding civil liability, the insurance companies that had contracted it are also condemned to respond to it. Regarding the payment of that compensation, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands has confirmed to La Voz that most of it was already paid years ago through those insurers and the rest promised to deposit it this Wednesday.

 

A crane "with mechanical and maintenance deficiencies"


The accident occurred on July 29, 2000, when the deceased worker was entrusted with the task of "lifting with concrete blocks a wall that had been destroyed by the effect of the wind" the night before. "The accused were aware of the conditions of the execution of the work, without having adopted the necessary and legally provided security and protection measures to carry it out without risk to the workers who operated on it," the Prosecutor's Office indictment stated, with which the three involved in the case have ended up showing their agreement.

According to that writing, not only did a worker die in the accident, but the lives of three others were also put "at risk" by using a crane with "mechanical and maintenance structural deficiencies." In addition, another employee who "lacked qualification" for it was handling that crane.

The one who "entrusted" that work to an employee without "training as a crane operator" was another of the accused, Juan Gaspar Rodríguez Peña, although the crane belonged to the company of Juan Francisco Rosa, Construcciones y Urbanismo Insulares SA, which according to the indictment was the owner of the work.

 

"He was not wearing any protection measure"


"When he proceeded to fill a metal tray with a load of debris from the demolished wall and at the moment of hoisting the load, the crane boom broke", impacting the tray in the place where the deceased worker was, "who was not wearing any protection measure", the Prosecutor's Office points out, in the writing that has been accepted by the accused. As a result of the impact, the victim suffered "a traumatic shock with polytrauma, multiple fractures and destruction of vital centers, injuries that resulted in his death at 1:10 p.m. on July 29, 2000", the same day of the accident.

According to the accusation, the work was in charge of Construcciones y Urbanismo Insulares SA, whose legal representative is Juan Francisco Rosa himself, who in turn, subcontracted some work to Arquitrabe SL and Construcciones Rodríguez Tena SL, whose legal representatives were the other two defendants. And all of them, according to the story they have acknowledged by accepting the agreement of conformity, knew that the worker who was operating the crane "lacked qualification to operate it" and knew the "deficiencies" of the machinery that was being used and the absence of security measures.

Therefore, they have accepted a conviction for a crime against the rights of workers, in conjunction with another of reckless homicide, although the confession and the time elapsed since the cause began, almost 18 years ago, have led to significantly reduce prison sentences.

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