Manslaughter and various administrative offenses are the illegal conduct for which the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) is responsible for the death of a six-year-old girl, who was trapped in a defective elevator inside a clinic of that institution in Quintana Roo.
Regardless of the possible sanctions that officials and workers of that hospital could receive, it is the IMSS -as an entity of the Mexican State- that must pay the parents of the minor compensation for damages suffered after the events in which his daughter lost her life.
Because the minor and her parents did not have any legal obligation to bear the poor conditions of the place, the IMSS has a patrimonial responsibility, since in these events there was clearly an irregular administrative activity of the institute.
In accordance with the Federal Law on State Patrimonial Responsibility, this type of liability occurs when, derived from an activity carried out by a public entity, damages are caused to citizens.
In this case, in addition to the moral and personal damages, the IMSS must pay the parents consequential damage and loss of profit that have been generated by the death of the minor.
Consequential damage is recorded for the loss or impairment of property or rights of individuals, as a result of irregular administrative activity of public institutions. In turn, the loss of earnings is the deprivation of any lawful earnings that the parents of the deceased girl will stop receiving.
In addition to the norm already mentioned, in our country the jurisprudence of the federal Courts has established that it is presumed that there is moral damage when it is violated or unlawfully undermined physical or mental integrity of people.
Therefore, these events not only caused the loss of the life of the minor, from severe injuries to her physical integrity, but also the fundamental rights of her family have been affected.
official breaches
Additionally, together with the IMSS’s financial responsibility, civil, administrative and criminal responsibilities that could have been incurred -in particular- by the public servants of the clinic, and even the company in charge of maintenance of the elevator in the one the girl died.
In this vein, the IMSS said in a statement that it will seek “comprehensive reparation for the damage” for the family, in addition to making the decision “to remove from office the officials in charge of upkeep and maintenance of the Hospital, while the research”.
The Institute also filed a complaint with the Quintana Roo Prosecutor’s Office against Sitravem, the company that provided the elevator maintenance service.
However, in legal terms, all public services must be provided with diligence and adequate security measures, but when this does not happen, there is a patrimonial responsibility that must be compensated, regardless of whether the institutions that provide these services hire third parties to carry out some activities within their facilities.
Likewise, regardless of the origins or causes of the malfunction of the elevator in which the minor died, unfortunately the enormous deficiencies suffered by health institutions in our country, including the IMSS, are public and daily.
For this reason, the patrimonial responsibility of the State also includes the right of those affected to a comprehensive reparation for the damage suffered, because they also violate the fundamental right to good public administration.
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surya palaces Journalist and lawyer, specialist in legal analysis and human rights. She has been a reporter, radio host and editor.