Приговор при свечах / Judgment in candlelight - Владимир Анатольевич Арсентьев

forensic examination of Petrova’s body showed that she died of multiple bone fractures with damage to internal organs, caused by falling from height inside the crane cab with subsequent traumatization by cab walls and equipment.

Defendant Lapenko explained to the court that he instructed Khrapov and Petrova to unload a panel trailer full of standard panels without providing the workers with information on the load weight. He didn’t verify the cargo markings or the quality department stamp designating the manufacturer and the weight, nor did he provide a slinging schematic. Hoping that Khrapov and Petrova figure everything out by themselves, Lapenko left the site. Then he heard about the crane collapse, arrived at the scene, and learned that Petrova had died in his absence.

Defendant Khrapov explained to the court that he was performing a task assigned by foreman Lapenko in Lapenko’s absence. Khrapov hooked four panels and then hooked two more at Petrova’s suggestion. He didn’t know the actual weight of the cargo and caused an overload, expecting that the overload protector in the crane mechanism would work. He signalled to Petrova to raise the load, during which time he found that there were no markings or weight indications on the cargo. Nevertheless, he took no appropriate safety measures. While Petrova was moving the load, the crane collapsed, and Khrapov saw the operator die. Khrapov told that Lapenko hadn’t given him any instructions regarding the slinging schematic for or weight of the PZh-43-1 construction material.

Therefore, a causal connection was established at trial between victim Petrova’s death and the violations of construction regulations by defendants Lapenko and Khrapov.

Finally, after three days of trial, the people’s court established the following. The accident took place on January 15 between 9 and 10 a. m. on a construction site in a city housing community, during the construction of a residential building by N City Civil Construction Enterprise. The person responsible for the safety of crane operations was installation foreman Lapenko appointed by order No. 153.

In violation of Articles 339 and 346 Item Zh of Regulations on Installation and Safe Operation of Cargo Cranes, defendant Lapenko, being absent at the site and failing to provide guidance, effectively allowed hoisting a load of more than 500 kg, without markings or indications of its actual weight and with no slinging schematic provided.

In violation of Items 6 (a), 6 (b), 7 (b), and 7 (t) of Operational Safety Instructions for Cargo Cranes, Lapenko failed to properly organize crane operations in line with the construction project or to continuously monitor the crane operator and the slinger implementing the instruction. Defendant Lapenko also failed in his responsibility to ensure safe crane operations. He did not make sure that cargo items in construction areas were stored in accordance with the project guidelines. Neither did he ensure that correct slinging and hooking schematics, along with cargo mass charts, were posted at the sites or handed out to crane operators and slinging personnel. He also allowed hoisting concrete and reinforced concrete items with a mass exceeding 500 kg in the absence of markings or indications of their actual mass.

Item 12 of the foreman job description stipulated that the foreman, as a supervisor and organizer of work and production at a construction or installation site, is responsible for safe construction and installation operations and safe movement of cargo with the use of cranes. Defendant Lapenko acted in violation of that provision.

Defendant Khrapov, appointed class 3 slinger by order No. 21, failed to comply with Items 12 (a), 12 (b), and 13 (a) of the Operational Safety Instruction for Slingers Servicing Cargo Cranes. He failed to strap the items according to the corresponding slinging schematics, check the mass of the items in the cargo list, or find the corresponding markings on the load. Unable to determine the weight of the load, he failed to ask foreman Lapenko for it. Ultimately, he strapped the load without knowing its weight, which is forbidden.

In violation of Item 3 of the Operational Safety Instruction No. 27 for Riggers and Slingers Servicing Cargo Cranes, Khrapov failed to find out the weight of the load, failed to obtain from foreman Lapenko the list of cargo items to be hoisted and moved by the crane, and allowed raising a load in excess of the crane specifications, which is forbidden.

Finally, Khrapov violated Item 4 of the mentioned instruction, in which he allowed hoisting concrete and reinforced concrete items without any weight markings, which is forbidden.

In gross violation of the construction regulations above, foreman Lapenko tasked slinger Khrapov and crane operator victim Petrova with unloading a panel trailer on the site, failing to inform them about the load weight, which he could and should have done. After that, Lapenko departed from the site, thereby allowing raising unmarked cargo that had no weight indications and no appropriate slinging schematics. In doing so, the foreman failed to ensure safe construction and installation operations, disregarding the cargo and neglecting operational safety, complacently hoping that slinger Khrapov and crane operator Petrova would prevent harmful consequences by themselves. In so doing, he exercised criminal negligence, allowing for an actual possibility of crane overload, which led to its collapse and the following death of victim Petrova.

In gross violation of the construction regulations, slinger Khrapov started unloading the panel trailer by hooking six PZh-43-1 panels without any markings or weight information. In fact, the resulting load weighed 11 tons 200 kilograms. In his lack of diligence, Khrapov exercised criminal negligence towards his direct responsibilities. Then, complacently expecting the built-in crane overload protector to work, he knowingly allowed an overload. Operator Petrova was in the cab 46–48 meters above the ground, which is equivalent to the height of a 10– or 11-story building. He signalled her to pick up the cargo and released the retaining cable on the panel trailer. After that, he signalled her to lift the cargo, pointed where to move it, and started walking to that location.

Operator