Overview
- The tribunal correctionnel de Pontoise convicted 67-year-old technician Jean‑Marc H. of involuntary manslaughter and gave him an 18-month suspended prison sentence in a ruling delivered Wednesday.
- The technician’s employer, Bagneux Hydraulique, was fined €80,000 and the elevator assembler TK Elevator was fined €225,000, a larger penalty than the prosecutor had sought for the assembler.
- Court experts traced the collapse to a 2015 repair on the rare hydraulic elevator in which a flexible hydraulic hose was incorrectly connected, a flaw the technician admitted during the trial.
- The victim’s mother welcomed the decision as relief after an eight-year fight but lawyers for the defendants said they may appeal, and TK Elevator has signalled it will reserve its response.
- Lawmakers and safety advocates say the ruling could accelerate plans for mandatory technical checks every two years and a no-fault owner liability regime to reduce the need for lengthy civil or criminal battles.