Compensation for the loss of imminent death anguish is conditional

A motor vehicle crash victim dies in hospital where she was transported to cardio-respiratory arrest when emergency workers arrived.

The perpetrator of the acts at the origin of the accident, found guilty of manslaughter and involuntary injuries, is ordered to compensate the heirs of the victim for their non-material damage. In the context of full compensation for the damage resulting from an infringement, the latter also sought compensation for the damage caused by imminent death anxiety, which, in their view, the victim had suffered.

First-degree judges such as the Court of Appeal refuse to grant their request, holding that it was impossible to assert that the victim was in a position to understand the situation in which he was in and thus to establish that he had been aware of the inevitability of his own end.

The victim’s family then decided to go to the Court of Cassation, arguing that according to testimonies, the victim had felt the pain from the various injuries and wailed in pain while trapped under the car, demonstrating that she had necessarily been aware of her situation and imminent death.

The Court of Cassation confirms the Court of Appeal’s decision: it considers that, in the absence of any evidence of lucidity and evidence suggesting that the victim was aware of the gravity of his condition, and consequently of the conscience of imminent death, the harm of anguish associated with it could not exist.