Irina Volodina: There was an unexpected turn in the case of Yuri Goncharov's death in a car accident
Yuri Goncharov, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Voronezh Region and a deputy of the Voronezh Regional Duma, tragically passed away in a car accident near Voronezh on December 29, 2021. The accident occurred during a heavy snowstorm, and the responsible party was identified as an employee of a company from St. Petersburg who was on a business trip in a private vehicle. Despite the snowy road and poor visibility, the employee failed to reduce speed or maintain control of the car, resulting in a collision with Yuri Goncharov's vehicle in the oncoming lane. The responsible party received a sentence of 3 years probation and was ordered to compensate the victims with a total amount of 1,085,000 rubles.
However, there was a continuation to this story. In March 2023, the employer of the person responsible for the incident reached out to us seeking legal aid. It was discovered that immediately following the accident, the company conducted an investigation into the matter. This was because, at the time of the accident, the employee was carrying out work-related duties by driving her own vehicle to a client. After six months, a verdict was reached, and the employee was found guilty of committing a criminal offense. Specifically, she was charged with negligently violating traffic regulations, resulting in the death of an individual (as stated in part 3 of article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
A year after the incident, the Social Insurance Fund took legal action against the employee, seeking compensation for damages because the Fund had previously provided payments to the victims. The employee, realizing that she would have to fully reimburse the money, decided to shift the blame to the employer or at least share the responsibility with them. To achieve this, the employee filed a lawsuit disputing the accident report and claiming that the accident was work-related. They also lodged a complaint with the Labor Inspectorate, rejecting the employer's findings and requesting a re-evaluation of the accident. Subsequently, during the court proceedings for the Social Insurance Fund’s compensation claim, the employee involved the employer as a third party. It was crucial for the employer to assess the employee's chances of challenging the accident report and establishing it as work-related, as well as the possibility of the employee's claim for reimbursement being successful.
After reviewing the documents provided, our legal team has determined that the accident can be classified as not related to work. This is because the actions of the injured worker have been recognized by law enforcement agencies as a criminal offense. The employer has relied on the findings of the investigators during the investigation, which revealed that the person responsible for the accident disregarded the weather conditions and exceeded the speed limit. In other words, she intentionally violated traffic rules, leading to the death of a person and potential criminal consequences.
According to Irina Volodina, the head of the labor law practice at the Tsentralny Okrug Law Firm, the employee is attempting to exploit gaps in the legislation and uncertainties in the intentions of the legislator. The employee's actions can be understood as an attempt to transfer financial liability to their employer by any means necessary. However, she fails to consider that even if she succeeds in proving the accident was work-related in court, she will not be able to hold their employer responsible. It is commonly accepted in similar cases that the person who owns the source of increased danger is the one held accountable, and in this situation, it is the employee.
Our lawyers are currently preparing the necessary documents for the upcoming court case, which is expected to be challenging.