After electrocution fatally injured an employee, the manager of a company in Kaunas was convicted: he argued that the deceased himself was to blame

As announced in the press release of the Kaunas district court, it has been proven that K. Vabuolas, being the work manager of UAB “Elektros automatika” and having the obligation to ensure safe and harmless working conditions for employees, did not properly assess dangerous risk factors, did not ensure safe working conditions and the necessary work tools, did not comply with provided by legislation and did not control the work process of the employees, which led to an accident that resulted in the death of one employee.

According to the case data, in 2021 on August 23, during the installation works of the security system, outdoor electrical networks and territory lighting electrical networks in the electrical panel, it was not ensured that the worker could not touch parts of currents with a voltage of 0.4 kV.

When the worker touched them with his finger, he was exposed to electric current and suffered injuries – the effect of technical electric current. The man died due to complications.

K. Vabuolas, who was questioned during the court session, did not fully admit his guilt for the criminal act he was accused of and stated that the incident in which the victim was killed was caused by the negligence of the deceased himself.

Although K. Vabuolas did not admit his guilt regarding the charge against him, the court stated that his guilt was proven by the evidence collected during the pre-trial investigation and directly examined in court.

“If the defendant had been sufficiently attentive and careful and had followed all the requirements set forth in the Occupational Safety and Health Act or other legal acts, the accident would not have occurred under the circumstances.

Thus, violations of the requirements established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act or other legal acts committed by the KV were the main and necessary condition for the occurrence of the event and the consequences – the death of the victim – and therefore there is a direct causal relationship between the actions of the KV and the resulting consequences.

In addition, the accident that caused the death of an employee of the company was caused not only by a specific violation of the requirements of legal acts committed by the KV and not by each of them individually, but by the totality of violations of the requirements of occupational safety and health protection at work established in occupational safety laws and other legal acts,” the Kaunas District Court states in the judgment passed by judge Arūnas Purvainis.

in 2024 April 23 K.Vabuolas was found guilty of violation of worker safety and health requirements (Article 176 d.1 of the Criminal Code) by the Kaunas Chamber of the Kaunas District Court, and was fined 190 MGL (9,500 euros).

Since the employer is responsible for the material or non-material damage caused by the employee’s criminal actions, the civil claim of the victim (deceased spouse) was partially satisfied in the case – the victim was awarded 40 thousand from the defendant UAB “Elektros automatika”. non-property damage in the amount of EUR 14.3 thousand. EUR property damage.

The company will also have to compensate 8 thousand. EUR property damage to the Kaunas Territorial Sick Fund, which was incurred while trying to save the victim’s life.

The verdict can be appealed within 20 days.