A legal victory for coal miners in the Lorraine basin. The industrial tribunal of Forbach (Moselle) condemned, Thursday, June 30, the Charbonnages de France, a public establishment in liquidation, to pay damages to 786 minors. They will each receive 1,000 euros in compensation for having been exposed to toxic substances.
The Court ruled that the Charbonnages de France (CdF) failed in their safety obligation by exposing the miners to at least two products recognized as dangerous: “harmful dust and formaldehyde used in consolidation resins”, according to the judgment reproduced by AFP.
Anxiety of getting sick
By finding that the health of the “black faces” was endangered, the Court recognized the prejudice of anxiety. This moral damage occurs when the risk of damage places the victim in a situation of permanent anxiety in the face of the risk of declaring an illness at any time. In this case, the workers were able to suffer from anxietythe idea of falling ill as a result of this exposure to toxic products. Anxiety that can promote the occurrence of professional diseases. This recognition of the prejudice of anxiety was reserved until recently for asbestos victims.
This judgment could set a precedent. Already, last January, the prejudice of anxiety had already been recognized for twelve people in the case of the Mediator.
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