A landmark decision was made by the Single-Member Misdemeanor Court of Amaliada, sentencing a former Head of the Technical Works Department to six months imprisonment following a lawsuit filed against him by a driver who was seriously injured in a traffic accident in 2017 on the Patras–Pyrgos highway, near Kapelto.
The accident occurred near Kapelto when, for unknown reasons, the driver’s car veered off the road, likely due to the slippery road surface caused by recent rain, and crashed into a power pole, causing the vehicle to overturn.
According to the Court’s decision, the Head of the Technical Works Department was sentenced to six months imprisonment because “being obligated by his position to exercise particular care and attention, he acted negligently, that is, he lacked the necessary attention required under the circumstances and failed to perform the required actions, thereby failing to prevent bodily harm to others. Although he had a specific legal duty to prevent this outcome, particularly at the above location on the National Road, despite the existence of a rainwater drainage system, the responsible department did not carry out the proper cleaning. As a result, water accumulated at the roadside, and combined with heavy rainfall, it had no outlet, causing water to pool on the road surface, effectively creating a ‘lake.’ Consequently, this led to the traffic accident.”
The Department Head noted that he had informed the elected officials of the Region about the road condition and requested immediate tendering of maintenance work. He also emphasized that maintenance on the National Road Network is exclusively done through contracts awarded by the Region to accredited contractors via competitive bidding, as his department lacks personnel, machinery, and technical expertise. However, at the time, no maintenance contracts were active.
This is essentially the first conviction of its kind, which may pave the way for other citizens to follow a similar legal route.
