The complaints of families of deceased relatives of Covid-19 in the Ehpad are increasing. – AFP
- Nearly 10,000 people have died from coronavirus in residential care facilities for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) in France.
- Several families of the sick and deceased have decided to press charges against X for “endangering the life of others”, “manslaughter” or “failure to assist a person in danger”.
- After the parquet of Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes), the parquet of Nanterre opened a preliminary investigation after a complaint of a family of a resident who died in an Ehpad in Chaville (Hauts-de-Seine), learned 20 minutes this Monday.
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First, there was the time of mourning. Then that of anger and misunderstanding. In France, according to the latest assessment communicated by the Ministry of Health, 9,738 residents of accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) died of
coronavirus since the start of the epidemic. More than a third of the total French victims. Hit hard and
sometimes deprived of the last moments with their loved one in a context of strict confinement, some families have since chosen to turn to justice.
In Grasse, Paris and Nanterre, complaints against X for “endangering the life of others”, “manslaughter” or “failure to assist a person in danger” have been filed. According to our information, a preliminary investigation was opened by the Nanterre prosecution after the filing of a complaint by the family of
a resident of a Chaville nursing home (Hauts-de-Seine) who died on March 25. This is the second investigation into this type of incident after that opened by the Grasse prosecution on April 2. While there are no figures to measure the scale of complaints lodged at the national level, families are trying to organize themselves.
“I complained for her”
Lawyer Fabien Arakelian represents eleven families spread across France. All have chosen to file a complaint and six establishments are now subject to these procedures. “Once the shock of the announcement passed, they felt that what had happened in these Ephad went beyond the simple health crisis,” said the lawyer, who spoke of a “public health scandal ” “These cases are very similar and the observation of my clients is the same every time. They encountered a near impossibility of obtaining information on the real state of health of their loved one, they found, directly or indirectly, an absence of preventive measures or insufficient measures and the screening tests were carried out in a way very late, ”continues the lawyer.
For journalist Olivia Mokiejewski, an unbearable question has come up endlessly since the death of her grandmother, Hermine, on April 4. “Maybe we couldn’t have saved her.” But maybe we could have. And I’m going to live with this question all my life, ”she confides to 20 minutes. Defended by Me Arakelian, she claims to have witnessed non-compliance during a videoconference organized with her grandmother, resident of a Clamart nursing home.
barrier gestures in the midst of an epidemic. And to continue: “I alerted as early as March 25, when I saw that she was coughing. I have been told for weeks that she is fine and that there is no case in her establishment. Now I learned later that it was not true. Today, I demand answers, “said the forties.
Like her, Arnaud, also lost her grandmother, Odette Noyer. Resident at the La Riviera de Mougins nursing home (Alpes-Maritimes), she is one of the 38 victims carried by the Covid-19 in this establishment alone. “On March 30, we were assured that she was fine. At 5 p.m. that day,
the newspaper Nice morning published an article with a first assessment of the victims in this Ehpad. And the next day, we were told that my grandmother had died the evening before, at 10 p.m. I was angry and if I decided to file a complaint, it was above all for her, “said the young man. Since,
the prosecutor’s office of Grasse opened an investigation for “involuntary killings and failure to help people in danger”, after a salvo of complaints from families and the municipality.
A chain of responsibilities
By filing a complaint against X, the complainants are waiting for justice to determine the chain of responsibility. But the management of the epidemic by certain private groups owning these establishments has been singled out. This is the case of Korian, to which belong the two Ehpad in which the relatives of Arnaud and Olivia resided. Contacted by 20 minutes, The group’s lawyer, Emmanuel Daoud, deplores the “media lawsuit” brought against the company: “Whether families have lodged a complaint, whether they are desperate or angry, it is understandable. But it is important that the justice system can do its job calmly in very complex public health cases. It is not enough to assert that there have been faults committed for them to be sanctioned by justice. “
According to him, the media coverage of cases and the proliferation of legal proceedings particularly struck employees. “These criticisms of the management of the crisis are cruelly felt by the staff who, since the beginning of the crisis, have been particularly involved. This generates suffering and a strong feeling of injustice, “added Daoud. The complainants, themselves, want to clarify their approach: “Whatever the management of these groups, families and employees of the Ehpad say in solidarity. We know that they themselves are affected by this epidemic, “said Olivia Mokiejewski, who said that she had also expressed her concerns during the epidemic to the Regional Health Agency.
A shaken sector
And the group is far from the only one subject to legal proceedings. The investigation opened by the Nanterre prosecution concerns a establishment in Chaville (Hauts-de-Seine) belonging to the Steva group. In Valdoie (Territoire de Belfort),
several complaints have also been filed “For manslaughter”, after the series of deaths during the epidemic at the Rosemontoise nursing home, managed by a local association.
In Paris alone, the public prosecutor’s office counted, on May 7, a total of 46 complaints targeting both public and / or political decision-makers, hospitals, care establishments or nursing homes. The number of complaints specifically targeting structures for dependent elderly people is not yet known but should be refined in the coming days.
An association to federate
To support each other in this legal battle, on May 6, Arnaud and Olivia created a dedicated association. “We called it” Collective 9.471 … “*. It was the number of victims of the coronavirus in Ehpad on the day of its creation. The objective is to unite all the families of deceased loved ones and the direct victims affected by the Covid-19 in Ehpad and who have survived. We also intend to file a complaint on behalf of this association, ”says Olivia Mokiejewski, who chairs the structure. “The interest in coming together for these families is to give visibility to their action and to allow other bereaved people to know about the possible legal actions,” added lawyer Fabien Arakelian.
Because the process can sometimes be difficult to undertake. In Mougins, Arnaud quickly tried to get in touch with the other affected families: “Initially, 12 deaths were announced, then 15, then 34, then 38 in one month. From the start, I felt that there was a need for joint action. But many families are scattered all over France, and some are still in shock. When you are unfamiliar with the legal process, filing a complaint can be complicated, you need to be able to find a lawyer, it is not always easy and it can seem daunting. “
Especially since the procedures promise to be long, anticipates the president of Collective 9.471: “The idea with this association is precisely to say” Join us, we will fight this fight for you “if some do not want to take the risk of engaging individually in this battle. But we need answers and the need for justice is very strong. “
* The “Collective 9.471…” can be reached by e-mail at this address: [email protected]
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