Prosecutors in Nocera Inferiore have requested that five people stand trial on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Alessandro Panariello, who died while working at a construction site in Scafati on 17 May 2024.
According to the reports, Panariello was struck by a steel plate or sheet that fell from a pulley or an elevated position. The later Il Mattino report describes him as 22 years old, while contemporaneous 2024 coverage described him as 21.
The accident on Via Melchiade
The fatal accident occurred at a construction site on Via Melchiade in Scafati. Reports describe the mechanism consistently: Panariello was lifting a steel sheet or plate with a pulley when it fell and struck him.
The family filed a complaint with the Scafati Carabinieri after the death. During the initial investigation, the construction site was reported seized while prosecutors pursued further inquiries.
Who faces the trial request
The Nocera Inferiore Prosecutor's Office requested committal to trial for five people. According to the later report, those under investigation included the owners or managers of the companies involved in the works, the site safety coordinator, and the condominium administrator acting as client for the project.
The full names of the five people and the final outcome of the request were not stated in the acquired material.
Safety and employment allegations
The investigation reportedly included alleged violations of Italy's Legislative Decree 81/2008 on workplace health and safety.
Earlier reporting also stated that Panariello was allegedly working without a regular employment contract. That allegation was raised by the family in the contemporaneous coverage and remains, like the safety allegations and questions of individual responsibility, subject to judicial determination.
What happens next
A preliminary hearing before the investigating judge was scheduled for December 2026, according to the later report. The exact date was not specified beyond December.
At this stage, the reports do not establish whether the requested committal to trial was subsequently granted. A request for trial is a prosecutorial request, not a finding of guilt: the preliminary hearing judge must still decide whether the case proceeds to trial.
Why the contract allegation matters for readers following the case
The claim that Panariello had no regular employment contract is central to understanding why investigators examined both the companies and the wider chain of responsibility. Under the account given in the early reports, questions of who employed the worker, who directed the work, and who was responsible for supervision overlap with the safety questions.
That is also why the reported list of suspects extends beyond the firms carrying out the work to include the site safety coordinator and the condominium administrator acting as client. The allegation does not prejudge responsibility; it defines part of what the court process would need to clarify.
A case followed since 2024
The trial request follows the initial 2024 investigation into the Via Melchiade accident, the family complaint, and the seizure of the site. For residents and workers in the Scafati area, the December preliminary hearing is the next procedural step to watch: it will determine whether the manslaughter and workplace-safety allegations against the five people move to a full trial.
