Facts
On May 26, 2015, a painter was carrying out painting work on a garbage compactor box that was parked in front of the loading ramp of a bakery. The painter asked an employee of the bakery, the technician [F.] , to assist him in opening the approximately 220 kg heavy unloading flap of the garbage container. [F.] then asked his superior, the defendant [B.] , whether he and the plant mechanic [G.] could help the painter open the flap and whether they could use the electric low-lift truck ("pallet jack") for this purpose. [B.] allowed this, with the instruction that the unloading flap had to be secured when opened. [C.] and [G.] lifted the flap with muscle power. [F.] , who was on the ramp with the "pallet jack", pushed its forks under the flap. Seconds later, the unloading flap slipped off the fork ends, slammed shut and hit [C.] on the head. He suffered severe head injuries and died at the scene of the accident.
Considerations
The Federal Court notes that the defendant [B.] as the safety officer of the bakery had a guarantor position towards the two employees [F.] and [G.] . Furthermore, as the coordinator of the work on the garbage container, he also had a guarantor position towards the external painter [C.] . Although he was aware of the possibility of danger when opening the unloading flap, he did not prohibit the employees from manually…