The materials manufacturer Cosentino has signed an agreement with the platform for those affected by silicosis in Andalusia to dismiss the claims that may come to it after agreeing compensation of 1.1 million to the workers of a Galician marble factory affected by silicosis.
Cosentino, valued at 3,000 million euros and with the aim of going public, has signed an agreement in Andalusia whereby those affected belonging to the platform may receive financial support related to their situation. The text of the agreement avoids at all times assuming any kind of responsibility in relation to the effects that the silestone distributed by the company causes the disease that affects the claimants, many of them employees of other marble companies.
Specifically, through the agreement, Cosentino’s management and the Andalusian Association of People Affected by Silicosis (APSA) undertake to carry out a study to determine the needs for “psychological support” both for those affected by silicosis and their families. Once this preliminary analysis is completed, “the necessary financial resources will be maintained to guarantee adequate psychological care for this group, as well as continue to detect new affected people who need support.”
In exchange, among other points of the agreement, “mechanisms for resolving the claims of the injured parties will be integrated into the platform for those affected, through which, with the participation of all the agents participating in the industry, a dejudicialization of the Current situation”. Although the recent sentence in Vigo was interpreted by the group as an isolated case that did not determine its responsibility, the company has seen a horizon of litigation open before which it is now taking the initiative.
“The Company assumes its commitment to those affected by silicosis in the sector,” Cosentino said in a statement. “Our main concern is people. We have the firm intention of being on the side of those affected and seeking, together with the rest of the industry agents and the Public Administrations, a definitive solution to this problem.”
In fact, it aspires to integrate into the platform other companies that have worked with its products without offering sufficient protection to employees or even to Public Administrations “as guarantors of compliance with the regulations on occupational risk prevention,” the statement said. in a veiled reference to the fact that the prosecution of silicosis cases that the courts may find related to Cosentino could be extended to other responsible parties.
The sentence of the Criminal Court 2 of Vigo that unleashed the risk of a massive litigation against the company reproaches the multinational from Almeria for acting “grossly negligent” in the case of the five employees of the Galician marble factory Granitel, who worked cutting and polishing the Silestone boards that Cosentino supplied them without being aware -because no one had told them- that they were endangering their own lives. Despite knowing the risks, the manufacturer “did not provide any information” to its customers, including Granitel.
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