Workplace accidents and ATS inspections: how to protect yourself legally

Nowadays, the issue of occupational health and safety assumes a central role within companies since any violations of the specific regulations set forth in  Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 can result in penalties, including criminal sanctions.

In cases where an accident at work results in injuries requiring over 40 days of prognosis (serious or very serious injuries) or the death of an employee, a criminal proceeding will be initiated ex officio.

The competent body for workplace prevention and safety is the Regional ATS/ASL (Local Health Authority), which typically conducts inspections and site visits on its own initiative or as delegated by the Judicial Authority.

ATS Inspections: ordinary or following an occupational injury

The inspection activities of the ATS/ASL may be ordinary to verify compliance with the regulations outlined in Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 or initiated following an accident at work; it is, therefore, essential for a company to carefully manage its relations with the relevant ATS/ASL right from the start.

In particular, if the ATS/ASL finds, as a result of inspection in the workplace, some violation of the regulations set forth in Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 will be drawn up against the responsible persons of the company a report of identification and a notice of contravention and prescription with a deadline for compliance.

If compliance with the prescribed measures is achieved within the given deadline, which can be extended upon a justified request from the offender, the Assessment Authority, after carrying out the relevant verification, notifies the responsible party’s admission to the payment of a reduced fine equal to one-fourth of the maximum amount of the prescribed fine, to be made within thirty days. Compliance with the prescriptions issued as a result of the ATS/ASL checks and the consequent payment of the stipulated penalties by the responsible party are then communicated to the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office for the request to dismiss the criminal proceedings related to the violations of the regulations under Legislative Decree No. 81/2008.

If ATS/ASL inspections are conducted following a workplace accident, in addition to verifying any violations of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 through the procedure above, the Ascertaining Body will be responsible for carrying out the investigation by proxy of the Judicial Authority to identify the causes and the persons responsible for the crimes of culpable personal injury under Article 590 of the Criminal Code and/or culpable homicide under Article 589 of the Criminal Code, for which an identification report will be preliminarily drawn up. The investigation activities carried out by the ATS/ASL will then flow into an occupational accident report that will be filed with the attached documents with the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office. Based on these investigative findings, the Public Prosecutor will decide whether to proceed with the criminal case against the company’s responsible parties.

Work injury: the importance of specialized legal assistance

Given these complexities, it is essential for companies to rely on attorneys specialized in occupational health and safety. These professionals can promptly engage with the relevant ATS/ASL to verify the necessary documentation to be submitted to the assessing body and to comply with the requirements issued, in case of violations of the regulations under Legislative Decree No. 81/2008. In addition, professionals specializing in occupational health and safety will be able to provide the necessary assistance and defense to those responsible for the company in the event of criminal proceedings in the event of an occupational injury.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that in the event of a work-related accident with serious or very serious injury or death of a worker, Articles 589 and 590 of the Criminal Code both provide for ex officio prosecution of crimes for which criminal proceedings will be initiated even in the absence of a complaint-complaint by the offended person.