Ercolano – Accident involving a teenage worker: the property owner was acquitted, while two other defendants received light sentences.
The criminal case of a serious accident and an episode of undeclared work that occurred in Ercolano on January 28, 2020, when LC, then just 14 years old, fell from a scaffolding and suffered fractures to his lumbar vertebrae, has also concluded.
After a lengthy and detailed preliminary investigation, Judge Immacolata Mammalella acquitted Maria Luisa Gianani, represented by the lawyer Massimo Autieri, and sentenced co-owner Giuseppe Scognamiglio to a suspended two-month prison sentence. The other defendant, Antonio Oliviero, a worker on the construction site where the accident occurred, represented by the lawyer Andrea Scardamaglio, was also given a light sentence.
The trial held before the First Section of the Naples Court examined the incident that occurred on January 28, 2020 in Ercolano.
LC was the victim of a serious accident at work. The boy was working on a building renovation project and obviously didn't have a regular contract. After attempting to obtain compensation for the accident, the boy's parents reported the building's owner, Giuseppe Scognamiglio, for hiring their son to work illegally.
In civil proceedings, the victim's family lost their claim for compensation due to "lack of evidence." They had sought €12 in damages from their alleged employer, Giuseppe Scognamiglio, accusing him of failing to comply with safety regulations and employing their son without formal employment.
According to the judge, the family's request was too general: the parents failed to provide adequate evidence of the actual subordination of the employment relationship, nor of the specific safety measures omitted. The family also failed to quantify the biological damage in detail or indicate whether they had filed a claim with INAIL. For these reasons, the court rejected the request, awarding legal fees.
Further background information emerged during the criminal trial. At the time of the accident, several workers, including site manager Antonio Oliviero, fled. Afterward, attempts were made to hush up the incident and any potential complaints with requests (from the victim's parents) and offers (from the building's owner) for money.
Revelations in criminal proceedings
While the civil compensation system has collapsed, the ongoing criminal proceedings against Scognamiglio, Maria Luisa Gianani, and Antonio Oliviero reveal a decidedly more complex reality. During the hearing on October 18, 2024, Gaetano Cervucci, the boy's father, gave dramatic testimony.
The man told the court that his son had been hired to work on the construction site as a replacement for a friend by a certain "Mastro Antonio" (Oliviero, ed.), an undocumented laborer who was meanwhile receiving basic income. The man claimed that Scognamiglio, one of the owners of the building under renovation, was actually paying for his son's services. At the time of the serious accident in the attic, "Mastro Antonio" allegedly fled, leaving the boy on the ground; the minor was later rescued only by the intervention of workers from another company working in the building.
“Shut up, I'll take care of everything”
Particularly disturbing is the background to the immediate aftermath of the crash. The father admitted in court that he initially lied to the Carabinieri: on the morning of the accident, he told law enforcement that he had "no idea" where his son was. This reticence was due, according to what he told Judge Cervucci, to pressure from Scognamiglio, who allegedly told him at the hospital: "Shut up, I'll take care of everything, don't worry."
According to the witness, the defendant himself then went to the family's home several times, offering them €4.000 to reach a financial agreement and avoid charges and legal consequences, an offer the parents ultimately refused.
In fact, it also emerged during the trial that the young worker's parents had repeatedly asked the owner of the building for money for the damage suffered by their son.
At the conclusion of the trial, the judge acquitted co-owner Gianani, who – according to the defense – was unaware of the ongoing work, and handed Scognamiglio a two-month suspended sentence.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
This accident involving a young man at work is truly unfortunate. However, I don't understand why the family lost the civil case. It seems they were right, but the judge says they didn't have adequate evidence. How can you work at 14 without a contract? It's a complicated situation.