The Versailles Court of Appeal has fined the elevator operator Otis 60,000 euros after the death of a seven-year-old child in one of its elevators in Mantes-La-Jolie (Yvelines) in 2015.
On October 10, 2015, seven-year-old Othmane went shopping in the working-class district of Val-Fourré, in Mantes-la-Jolie, south-west of Paris. While taking the elevator, the wheel of his scooter got stuck in the doors and the handlebars then got stuck under his neck, causing him to asphyxiate.
Prosecuted for “manslaughter”, Otis had already been sentenced to a fine of 60,000 euros in 2018, a conviction confirmed on appeal but quashed by the Court of Cassation for procedural flaws. The case was therefore retried last April in Versailles.
It’s my son who died, not a cat
This Friday, the Court of Appeal recognized the criminal guilt of Otis. On the civil action, the company was recognized responsible “up to two thirds of the damage suffered by the civil parties”. “We have recklessness, criminally culpable negligence” on the part of Otis, had estimated the general counsel in his requisitions, for which the company did not implement everything in its power to avoid the accident.
The Advocate General had notably pointed the finger at “frequent but not permanent adjustments” made by Otis on the elevator doors. “Neither the HLM lessor nor Otis took the decision to decommission it. For her part, the elevator operator’s lawyer pleaded that Otis organized recurring checks, while denouncing the damage to the doors by the inhabitants.
At the bar, the emotion of the child’s mother was strong. “It’s my son who died, he’s not a cat,” she said, holding a large photo of her son, adding, “He would have been 14 today.”