The La Rochelle court found Leroy Merlin guilty of involuntary homicide on Thursday, following the death of a customer struck by wooden materials in a Puilboreau store in April 2023. The company was convicted for failing its duty of safety. The victim's husband, initially prosecuted, was acquitted.
In April 2023, a woman was struck by 300 kilos of wooden claustra panels that slipped from a storage rack in the materials yard of the Leroy Merlin store in Puilboreau, near La Rochelle, in Charente-Maritime. Severely injured, she was placed in a coma and succumbed several weeks later at La Rochelle hospital.
The La Rochelle court ruled the DIY chain guilty of involuntary homicide on Thursday, due to a breach of the duty of safety. Leroy Merlin was fined 15,000 euros, slightly more than the prosecutor's request, and ordered to pay 150,000 euros in damages to the victim's family.
The prosecution had sought four months' suspended prison sentence against the victim's husband, a septuagenarian who mistakenly believed he was in a self-service area. He had begun handling the wooden shelving before the accident. The court acquitted him and recognized him as a victim. "It has been demonstrated that the accident was not linked to any human action," reacted his lawyer Me Arnaud Attal, "relieved" that "the court finally recognizes the husband of the deceased as a victim".
This case highlights the responsibilities of retail chains regarding safety in their stores, especially in heavy materials storage areas.