Criminal investigation into accidental death by compactor
When dealing with a case of suspicious death, especially in unusual circumstances such as an individual found lifeless inside a dumpster compacted by an industrial machine, the legal perspective inevitably intertwines with the forensic one.
The criminal lawyer assisting the parties—whether the victim’s relatives or individuals under investigation—must master both criminal law categories and forensic terminology in order to assess the criminal relevance of the fact and potential liabilities.
In this article, we will analyze the various phases of a criminal investigation, focusing on police activities, medico-legal examinations, and the role of legal defense, with particular attention to the implications of death by traumatic asphyxia due to chest compression.
Opening the Criminal Proceedings
The discovery of a body in anomalous circumstances always triggers the opening of a criminal proceeding for homicide, negligent or intentional, against unknown persons. This is a mandatory step, deriving from Article 112 of the Italian Constitution and Article 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in order to protect the principle of mandatory prosecution.
In similar cases, the Public Prosecutor immediately orders the intervention of the judicial police to carry out inspections at the place of discovery. Every environmental element—the position of the body, the machinery involved, blood or biological traces—is collected, photographed, and documented in the inspection report. The initial stage is essential: any documentary deficiency can compromise the entire investigation.
Seizure of Property and Equipment
If the death occurred as a result of the action of a compactor machine, it becomes immediately necessary to proceed with the seizure of the equipment. The seizure serves a dual purpose: on the one hand, it preserves the corpus delicti and relevant objects; on the other, it prevents the loss of evidence crucial to reconstructing the dynamics.
The defense has the right to attend, through technical experts, the inspection and expert examination of the machine, verifying whether there were technical malfunctions, failures in safety devices, or management omissions on the part of the company operating the waste disposal service.
Autopsy: The Cornerstone of Assessment
No case of suspicious death can be clarified without an autopsy. The forensic pathologist, appointed as an expert by the Public Prosecutor, is tasked with determining the cause of death, the time of death, and the compatibility of injuries with different reconstruction hypotheses.
In the present case, the autopsy revealed:
ecchymotic mask (cyanosis of face and neck, protrusion of eyeballs, subconjunctival hemorrhages);
thoracic polytrauma with multiple fractures of ribs, sternum, and clavicle;
diaphragmatic and visceral lacerations;
a high blood alcohol concentration.
These findings pointed towards a mechanism of asphyxia due to chest compression, consistent with the action of a compactor.
Legal Qualification of the Conduct
At this stage, the lawyer must ask: is there room for a criminal offense?
The main alternatives are three:
Manslaughter (Art. 589 Criminal Code) – if the death resulted from negligence, imprudence, or lack of skill, for example, due to failure to adopt safety measures by those responsible for the plant.
Death as a Consequence of Another Crime (Art. 586 Criminal Code) – if the victim had been forced to hide in the dumpster due to an assault.
Intentional homicide, based on the circumstances found and the victim's history.
Absence of Criminal Liability – if the event resulted solely from self-endangering conduct or an unforeseeable accident.
It is clear that the factual reconstruction is decisive: without certainties about the dynamics, the judge cannot overcome the threshold of reasonable doubt.
Subjective Element and Substance Use
The presence of a blood alcohol level of 2.79 g/L raises a further legal issue: how much does the victim’s psychophysical condition affect the assessment of others’ liability?
If the individual, in a state of intoxication, voluntarily hid in the dumpster to sleep or take shelter, the responsibility of the waste operators could be mitigated, notwithstanding their obligation to comply with safety protocols.
The applicable legal principle is that of contributory negligence of the victim: the imprudent conduct of the victim does not automatically exclude the liability of others but may reduce the degree of fault imputed.
The Role of Technical Consultants
In complex investigations such as this, the defense must appoint technical consultants (CTPs), often forensic doctors or mechanical engineers.
The former verify the compatibility between injuries and dynamics; the latter analyze the compliance of the equipment with technical and occupational safety regulations (Legislative Decree 81/2008).
Technical cross-examination is crucial: it is not uncommon for the Public Prosecutor’s expert reports to be challenged with significant results, leading the judge to reconsider the causal chain.
Liability of the Managing Entity
One must not overlook the issue of corporate liability (Legislative Decree 231/2001).
If the compactor machine belonged to a waste management company, and organizational violations were proven, the entity itself could be held liable with monetary and interdictive sanctions.
The lawyer must therefore assess not only the position of individual operators but also the organizational fault of the legal entity, which may manifest in deficiencies in management and control systems.
The Hypothesis of Preterintentional Homicide
Another, albeit more remote, line of investigation is preterintentional homicide (Art. 584 Criminal Code).
If it were proven that the victim had sought refuge in the dumpster to escape a physical assault, and that the assault did not aim at causing death but indirectly led to it, criminal liability could fall on the aggressors.
In the absence of evidence, however, this remains merely theoretical.
Evidentiary Challenges
This case presents typical difficulties of accidental death investigations:
multiple injuries, some vital and others post-mortem;
difficulty distinguishing injuries caused by the compactor from those inflicted later by handling machinery;
absence of eyewitnesses.
In such contexts, the risk is dismissal due to insufficient evidence, unless concrete elements of fault or intent emerge.
The Relatives’ Right to Truth
From the civil party’s perspective, the lawyer’s role is to guarantee the victim’s relatives the right to truth and compensation.
Regardless of the criminal outcome, there remains the possibility of bringing a civil action to obtain recognition of economic and non-economic damages, based on the principle of neminem laedere (Art. 2043 Civil Code).
Civil proceedings require a less stringent standard of proof compared to criminal trials, based on the criterion of “more likely than not.”
Ethical and Social Considerations
Beyond strictly legal aspects, the criminal lawyer cannot ignore the ethical and social implications of such a case.
The death of an individual in degrading circumstances—in a dumpster—highlights the issue of human dignity, often endangered by social marginalization, substance abuse, and failures in protection systems.
The criminal investigation, therefore, is not only a repressive tool but also an opportunity for collective reflection on the prevention of similar events.
The case of death by chest compression from a compactor machine represents a complex test for criminal law.
The lawyer must navigate between scientific evidence and legal evaluation, balancing potential charges with possible defenses and contributory negligence.
The key lies in ensuring that every stage of the investigation—from the seizure of equipment to the autopsy, from expert reports to legal qualification—is conducted with rigor and transparency, respecting the rights of all parties involved.
Ultimately, such a criminal proceeding is not limited to determining “who is guilty,” but becomes an occasion to reaffirm the value of legality, the protection of human life, and the right to truth.
Tags: Workplace, road‑traffic and medical‑error fatal accidents
