Criminal Court No. 5 of Bilbao, has ruled that the president of the multinational Cosentino, Francisco Martínez-Cosentino Justo, has been absolved of any kind of responsibility in relation to the occupational disease (silicosis) contracted by six workers in a marble factory in Vizcaya.
This is what emerges from the ruling dated 4 March 2024 consulted by La Comarca Noticias, according to which, the businessman from Macael has been acquitted of the crime against workers’ rights and six crimes of injury due to gross negligence of which they were accused in the aforementioned proceedings.
The trial was carried out for the alleged failures of the marble factory Novogranit SL to implement preventive measures against silicosis and the possible omissions of Cosentino S.A. and Levantina y Asociados de Minerales S.A. with regard to the provision of information on the health hazards arising from working with the quartz agglomerates they manufactured and/or supplied.
From the judge’s reasoning, it is clear that the most «elementary» measures of care were not omitted and the possibility of producing the result is not shown to be «considerable», so that we are not dealing with an easily accessible and commonly foreseeable lack of foresight or with a gross disregard of what was required of any person in the exercise of their activity at that time (2002), but rather an action that certainly exceeded the permitted risk but which, although it crossed the dividing line with civil imprudence, does not have the gravity (entity) required for the criminalisation sought.
In short, if the offending conduct had taken place now, it is possible that the facts would have constituted a crime of reckless injury, but not at that time (2002) when it was not sufficiently proven that the handling of these conglomerates or silica boards could produce an occupational disease such as silicosis, which had already been discovered in other areas or professional sectors, in the marble works where it was being treated, and therefore the appeal lodged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office should be dismissed.
The Cosentino company wanted to «express its solidarity with all those workers and their families who suffer the effects of this serious occupational disease, which is totally preventable. The safety of all workers in the industry has been and will continue to be Cosentino’s top priority,» they say.
With regard to the court ruling, «Cosentino wishes to express its satisfaction with this court decision, which confirms that the company has always acted prudently, providing its customers with information for the proper manufacture of its products2.
This new exculpatory sentence, they say, «joins several court rulings that confirmed that Cosentino always correctly informed its customers about how to work its products».
«Ensuring the proper application of known safety measures in cutting workshops is the way to eradicate silicosis from our industry. It is everyone’s responsibility (marble workers, manufacturers and public administrations) to protect the health and safety of workers in the sector. Cosentino will continue to collaborate to reinforce a safe and sustainable sector», they conclude.
This decision is not final and an appeal may be lodged against it within 10 days of its notification.