Criminal Lawyers for Workplace Accidents
Defense of employers, managers, and safety officers facing criminal liability for workplace accidents.
Last updated:
Workplace accidents can trigger criminal liability for employers, managers, safety officers, and prevention service technicians. Articles 316-318 of the Criminal Code specifically criminalize endangering workers' life, health, or physical integrity through failure to provide adequate safety measures. When workers are injured or killed, these charges typically concur with reckless injury or involuntary manslaughter.
Criminal Framework
Article 316 CP (intentional endangerment) carries imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years and a fine, while Article 317 (negligent endangerment) carries penalties reduced by one degree. If the accident causes injury or death, the safety offense concurs with reckless injury (Art. 152) or involuntary manslaughter (Art. 142), producing combined sentences that can reach 4-6 years imprisonment for fatal accidents.
Defense Strategies
Our defense examines: proving the employer had proper safety measures in place (risk assessments, safety equipment, training records, prevention plans); demonstrating the accident resulted from the worker's own negligence or violation of safety protocols; establishing that a prevention service was properly contracted and its recommendations followed; challenging the causal link between the alleged safety deficiency and the accident; and arguing that the responsible person was a delegated safety officer rather than senior management.
Economic Criminal Law in Spain: Tax Fraud, Money Laundering and Corporate Crimes
Economic criminal law encompasses the most severe financial penalties in the Spanish Criminal Code. Tax fraud over €120,000 (Art. 305 CP), money laundering (Art. 301 CP), and corporate crimes (Art. 290-297 CP) are complex offenses where defense requires a combination of criminal law expertise and deep accounting/financial knowledge.
Penalty Comparison: Economic Offenses
| Offense | Threshold | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Fraud (Art. 305) | >€120,000 | 1 – 5 years + fine x6 |
| Aggravated Tax Fraud | >€600,000 | 2 – 6 years |
| Money Laundering (Art. 301) | Any amount | 6 months – 6 years |
| Aggravated Laundering | Organized/financial system | Up to 9 years |
| Corporate Crime (Art. 290) | Balance sheet falsification | 1 – 3 years |
| Punishable Insolvency (Art. 259) | Fraudulent bankruptcy | 1 – 4 years |
Key Defense Strategies
Tax Regularization Defense (Art. 305.4 CP)
Pay the full tax debt before charges are formally filed and the crime is extinguished. This is the most powerful complete defense in tax fraud cases.
Challenge the €120K Threshold
The tax authority's calculation method is often contestable. Independent forensic accounting can challenge the assessed figure below the criminal threshold.
Money Laundering 'Self-laundering' Issues
Spanish courts have debated whether the primary offender can also be convicted of laundering their own proceeds. Challenge the double jeopardy implications.
Corporate Crime: Harm to Company vs. Shareholders
Art. 295 corporate crimes require actual financial harm to the company or its members. Demonstrate that any loss was speculative or absent.
Why Choose Us?
Need a criminal defense lawyer for this type of offense? Here's how we work:
Do you need specialised legal assistance?
The judicial system is complex. We have the criminal-law specialisation and technical resources required to take on the defence.