Ismaïl, 4, killed in an elevator: company sentenced to the maximum legal penalty

The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, September 2, before the Pontoise criminal court, more than eight years after the little boy’s death at the Côté Seine shopping center in Argenteuil.

TK Elevator, formerly ThyssenKrupp, its subcontractor Bagneux Hydraulique, and the technician who worked on the equipment were all found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The harshest penalty was imposed on the company that assembled the elevator. TK Elevator will have to pay a fine of 225,000 euros, whereas the public prosecutor’s office had requested 150,000 euros during the trial.

The court therefore went 75,000 euros beyond the prosecution’s request, imposing on the company the maximum legal penalty applicable to the involuntary manslaughter charge.

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The Bagneux Hydraulique technician, now 67, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended. His former employer was fined 80,000 euros.

The three defendants have ten days to appeal.

The cabin fell 1.85 meters instead of 12 centimeters

The tragedy occurred on June 8, 2018. Ismaïl, aged 4, was in the elevator with his family.

When the cabin reached the first floor, several family members began getting out. The boy followed them, but the equipment suddenly fell.

Ismaïl became trapped at chest level between the cabin and the landing. His mother, still trapped inside the elevator, watched helplessly. Despite the emergency responders’ intervention, the child died at the scene.

The elevator operated using a relatively rare hydraulic system in France. Three years before the accident, an oil leak had required the replacement of a hose responsible for transporting the oil to the cylinders.

TK Elevator had entrusted this work to Bagneux Hydraulique. The company’s technician replaced the hose, but subsequent expert assessments concluded that its connection had not been properly made.

According to an initial expert assessment, the faulty crimping caused the hose to detach and directly led to the cabin’s fall.

A second expert assessment also implicated the safety device installed on the equipment. A suitable mechanical anti-drift system should have limited the fall to around 12 centimeters. That day, the cabin suddenly descended 1.85 meters.

The report also noted that TK Elevator had not ordered a replacement part conforming to the installation’s technical specifications, while its subcontractor had not followed the manufacturer’s instructions when assembling the connection.

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At the trial, all three defendants had pleaded for acquittal. The technician admitted making a mistake but was unable to explain how it had occurred. TK Elevator’s defense argued that the equipment complied with the standards and that the company had specifically called on a specialist for the hydraulic work.

The court ultimately held the entire chain of intervention responsible.

After the hearing, Ismaïl’s mother said she believed that justice had acknowledged the negligence and responsibility of each party. “Eight years later, we can finally begin to move forward,” she said, according to La Dépêche.

The family’s lawyer, Me Yassine Bouzrou, welcomed a particularly significant decision. He pointed out that these accidents are often addressed solely from the perspective of civil compensation. This time, eight years after Ismaïl’s death, justice recognized the criminal responsibility of the technician and the two companies, going so far as to impose the maximum penalty on TK Elevator.