The Department of Labor Inspection of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance promoted the criminal prosecution of the "Electricity Authority of Cyprus", which violated the provisions of the Legislation on Safety and Health at Work.
As a result of this prosecution, the District Court of Larnaca sentenced the "Cyprus Electricity Authority" which operates, among other things, in the production, transmission and distribution of electricity, to a fine of €28.000 for the following violations of the Minimum Safety and Health Standards (Use during the Work of Work Equipment) Regulations and of the Management of Safety and Health Issues at Work Regulations, which caused the fatal injury to one of its employees and endangered its employees, as well as other persons:
(a) Failure to have a properly maintained lifting basket machine, as a result, while its employee was engaged in palm tree pruning and was inside the basket of the above machine, at a height of approximately 4m, the machine suffered a mechanical failure, that is, cutting/breaking of the support arm resulting in the sudden fall of the biga and the basket, in which her employer was located and his fatal injury.
(b) Failure to replace the worn pin of the support arm of a lifting basket-carrying machine, with the result that while its employee was engaged in palm tree pruning and was inside the basket of the above machine, at a height of approximately 4m, the machine suffered a mechanical failure, i.e. cutting /breakage of the support arm, resulting in the sudden fall of the biga and the basket in which the employee was and his fatal injury.
(c) Failure to carry out a periodic check of a lifting basket-carrying machine, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, with the result that, while its employee was engaged in palm tree pruning and was inside the basket of the above machine, at a height of approximately 4m, the machine suffered a mechanical failure , i.e., cutting/breaking of a pin of the support arm resulting in the sudden fall of the biga and the basket, in which the employee was located and his fatal injury.
(d) Failure to implement an appropriate safety or risk management system, which describes in relation to the planned preventive maintenance of lifting machinery, the arrangements for the effective planning, organization, control, monitoring and review of preventive maintenance; and protective measures, which must be taken for the activities in the workplace that create risks, with the result that while her employer was engaged in palm tree pruning and was inside a basket of a lifting basket-carrying machine, at a height of approximately 4m, the machine suffered a mechanical failure, i.e. , cutting/breaking a pin of the support arm resulting in the sudden fall of the boom and the basket, in which the employee was located and the fatal injury of the employee.
(e) Failure to replace the worn pin of the support arm of the lifting platform.
(f) Failure to carry out a periodic inspection of a lifting platform in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
(g) Failure to implement an appropriate safety or risk management system that describes, in relation to scheduled preventive maintenance of lifting machinery, the arrangements for the effective planning, organization, control and monitoring and review of preventive maintenance; and protective measures to be taken for workplace activities that create hazards.
(h) Failing to properly maintain a lifting platform (ie maintained it by wearing the diameter of the support arm pin from 25mm to 13,5mm).