Καβάλα: απορρίφθηκε η αγωγή για τη γέφυρα

The Three-member Administrative Court of First Instance of Kavala rejected in its entirety a lawsuit filed by the driver and owner of a crane-carrying vehicle for the collapse of a bridge in November 2018. The plaintiff requested a total of more than 144,000 euros for material damages, lost profits and moral damage, directed against the Municipality of Kavala, the Region and the Greek State. The bridge was located in front of the old Kavala Hospital and collapsed at the moment the vehicle crossed it, resulting in serious damage to the machine itself. The case was tried before an administrative and not a civil court, as it was directed against State and self-government bodies.

The technical expert report was decisive for the judgment of the court. According to her, the actual weight of the crane was 67.16 tons, at a time when the bridge’s operating limit was 40 tons — that is, an excess of more than 65%. In addition, the vehicle was moving without the required permit for the passage of a special project machine, a document that requires control of the route and infrastructure by the competent services. Additional strain, it emerged, was caused by sudden braking while passing. The special project machine transit permit is issued after a route study and is a basic requirement for any heavy transport.

The court accepted that the responsibility for maintaining the specific road section belonged to the Municipality of Kavala. He ruled, however, that the collapse was not due to an omission by the competent services, adopting the conclusion that even with regular maintenance the bridge would collapse under the weight of the vehicle in question. In other words, the court did not find that the infrastructure was adequately maintained, but that there was no causal link between the condition of the bridge and the damage claimed by the plaintiff. The concept of causation is central to the law of torts and requires it to be shown that the damage resulted from the particular omission.

The decision is of interest for similar cases, as it delimits the responsibility of the maintenance body versus the responsibility of the user of the infrastructure. Load limits on bridges are binding and exceeding them, especially without a special crossing permit, shifts the responsibility to the driver and the company carrying out the transport. The information is attributed by evros24.gr to dikastiko.gr, which first recorded the content of the decision. It is not known whether the plaintiff will appeal. More in Justice. The deadline for filing an appeal runs from the service of the decision to the claimant.