Paralympian swimmer Vladyslava Kravchenko has described as an “insult” a judge’s decision to retry a company director found guilty of the collapse of a structure that paralysed her and injured others in 2008.
Kravchenko’s life changed dramatically when she was just 17, after the former gymnast suffered a spinal cord injury when a lighting structure fell on her during a party in Qawra.
Maurice Attard, the director of the lighting company, was sentenced to a 10-month jail term over the incident in 2016.
His lawyers appealed, arguing that the Court of Magistrates had not asked the accused whether he wished to be tried summarily or before the Criminal Court. This meant that Attard had “tacitly” accepted to have the case heard by a magistrate’s court.
Earlier this week, Judge Giovanni Grixti sent the case back to the magistrate’s court to be heard afresh.
“It is true that my injury was the most severe, but I was not the only one injured,” Kravchenko told Times of Malta following that ruling. “It is an insult to all the people who have been affected by this accident and also to the taxpayers.”
The 29-year-old said she was completely “disheartened”.
“It took 13 years to establish that the accident occurred as a result of shortcomings in the health and safety measures at a public event and now, because of a procedural mishap, we are back before the Court of Magistrates.”
She asked how long it must take for public health and safety to be given its due importance.
“How many more lives need to be negatively affected, or sometimes even taken away, before health and safety is given priority?
“When there is a breach, those who are responsible should be brought to justice and those affected should be compensated, all within a reasonable time frame.”
As taxpayers, citizens had a right to feel protected by the judiciary, Kravchenko said. After a case lasting years, they should be reassured of a fair judgment that balances both the rights of the victims and the accused.
“Whereas this week’s decision guarantees the procedural safeguards of the accused, it is a pity that procedural defects slip between the cracks in the first place. Reforms to the court system should ensure that such mistakes do not happen.”
She called for an investigation into how the formality was overlooked to ensure it is not repeated.
In 2017, the court awarded Kravchenko €463,465 damages, to be paid by the St Paul’s Bay local council, organisers of the event, Sonlit Ltd and Attard.
Four years on, Kravchenko is still waiting for the compensation.
“The decision has been appealed by the defendants and we are still waiting for the appeal date to be set,” she said.
Born in Ukraine, Kravchenko has lived in Malta with her mother since she was nine years old and is a Maltese citizen.
Last August, she and para-athletics athlete Thomas Borg represented Malta at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, and she appeared in the Rio Games in 2016.