Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A federal administrative court has cleared elevator maintenance company SITRAVEM of all responsibility in the death of a 6-year-old girl who was crushed in an elevator at IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) Regional Hospital No. 18 in Playa del Carmen three years ago.
The full bench of the 24th Collegiate Administrative Tribunal in Mexico City dismissed an appeal filed by the legal unit of the federal Anti-Corruption Secretariat, which had sought to uphold a sanction against Soluciones Integrales de Transportación Vertical en México (SITRAVEM). The ruling annuls a two-year and 24-day disqualification from government contracts and a fine of more than 400,000 pesos — equivalent to 3,500 Units of Measurement and Update (UMAs).
The case dates back to July 2023, when the girl, identified as Aitana N., died after being trapped in one of the hospital’s elevators. SITRAVEM, which provided elevator maintenance services at the hospital, was initially penalized by IMSS’s internal control body. The company challenged the penalty in the Federal Court of Administrative Justice, which ruled in its favor. The Anti-Corruption Secretariat then filed a review appeal, prompting the collegiate tribunal’s decision.
In their ruling, the magistrates said the lower court’s finding rested on a strictly formal defect in the administrative action and did not examine whether the conduct attributed to the company actually occurred or was legally punishable. SITRAVEM had argued that authorities applied an official Mexican standard on elevator use that had already expired.
As a result, the company is no longer barred from bidding on future contracts for its services and will not have to pay the fine. The disqualification had been scheduled to take effect on July 18, 2024, meaning the legal battle had been resolved just before the penalty period was set to expire.
No individual or company has been held criminally responsible for the girl’s death.
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