Orpea is condemned for breaches which led to the death of a resident of the Le Clos-des-Meuniers retirement home, located in Bagneux.
This judgment, rendered by the 2nd civil chamber of the Nanterre judicial court, is the first rendered against the giant accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) since the publication of Victor Castanet's investigative book, Les Fossoyeurs, who revealed the scandal in these establishments.
“SA Orpea has therefore clearly failed in its obligations to ensure integrity and security”
In this case, initiated by the son of a woman who died at the age of 84, in January 2017, Orpea is ordered to pay him 65,510 euros in damages.
The deceased had lost her life "after being hospitalized for an unexplained double fracture of the femurs", specifies the court of Nanterre in a press release.
In its judgment, the court relied in particular on medical expertise which ruled out the causes of death put forward by Orpea, such as an epileptic seizure or an infection.
"The expert concluded that a trauma suffered by Mrs. D. in the retirement home Le clos des meuniers is the cause of her double fracture of the femurs and her death", we read on the contrary in the decision of the 2nd civil chamber.
“He adds that she was fragile
before the accidental event due to weight loss that had been evolving for at least several months, leading to severe malnutrition,”
the judgment further indicates.
“SA Orpea has therefore clearly failed in its obligations to ensure the integrity and safety” of the victim, the court clearly decides.