Crane Owner Liability and Indemnity for Operator Negligence

A plaintiff, injured when a load being hoisted by a construction crane fell, sued the owner of the crane, who cross-claimed against the company that had provided the operating personnel, arguing that the accident resulted from the operator's fault in violating safety regulations regarding the load's attachment and subsequent signaling. The court of cassation upheld the lower court's decision finding the crane owner liable to the injured party, affirming that the owner, as the custodian of the equipment, retained a non-delegable responsibility for damages caused by the crane's operation, irrespective of whether the fault lay with the operator provided by a third-party company, thus validating the indemnity claim against the personnel provider based on the operator's negligence.