Noël Pouliquen v. Transkalia

Reference :

RG 17/00703, RG 18/00657, RG 18/00799

Complaint date :

October 18, 2017

Status :

Final judgment

Place of jurisdiction :

France, Vannes

Plaintiffs types :

Farm/rural workers

Plaintiffs names :

Noël Pouliquen

Defendants :

Transkalia, Distrivert,

Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice :

François Lafforgue

Case nature :

Social court

Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) :

Other

Requests :

See recognition that the illness of which he was declared to be afflicted is attributable to the inexcusable fault of his employer.

Name of the Court :

High Court - Social Division of Vannes , France

Jurisdiction level :

Decision date :

November 4, 2019

Decision nature :

Positive

Decision content :

The junction of the 3 cases is ordered under ref RG 17/703; the company has committed an inexcusable fault engaging its liability; the request for a maximum increase in the pension presented by Mr Pouliquen is granted; the request for an expert's report to assess the damages is granted.

Legal basis :

Court Ruling :

Link to the ruling

Summary :

On November 4, 2019, the Vannes Judicial Tribunal acknowledged the existence of an inexcusable fault attributable to the Transkalia company for the pathologies developed by Noël Pouliquen, a former employee in the company’s “pesticides workshop”.

On December 22, 2015, Noël Pouliquen declared to the Agricultural Social Security that he was suffering from cancer. Once his pathology had been recognized as a professional disease, Nöel Pouliquen submitted a claim to french courts by registered letters dated October 18 2017 and September 7 2018, seeking recognition of Transkalia's liability for inexcusable fault on the basis of article L. 452-1 of the French Social Security Code and articles L.4121-1 et seq. of the French Labor Code.

Indeed, working conditions in the "pesticide workshop" did not ensure the safety of employees, who were closely exposed to the pesticides produced by the company: the necessary protective equipment was not made available to employees, they regularly came into direct contact with harmful substances, and they received little to no training on the risks entailed by these products.

As a result of this negligence on the part of Triskalia, which was fully aware of the harmful nature of the products handled by its employees, all those who worked in the "pesticide workshop" developed pathologies linked to their prolonged exposure to pesticides.

The Vannes Regional Court, having joined Noël Pouliquen's complaint with two others lodged against the company on similar grounds (the original registering numbers for all three complaint were N° RG 17/00703, N°RG 18/00657 and N° RG 18/00799), recognized the company's responsibility for the pathology developed by Nöel Pouliquen, ordered Transkalia to pay costs of 1,500 euros and ordered a medical assessment of the damages. Transkalia has not appealed this decision.

Scientific references :

No scientifice reference for this case.