Inside the Saint-Nazaire courthouse.
-
L.Venance / AFP
The accident had caused great emotion in the region.
Above all, it caused serious damage to a little girl who is now 3 years old.
On August 1, 2019, Elisabeth and her parents, originally from the Paris region, are seated at the hotel-restaurant L'Auberge de la Fontaine aux Bretons, in Pornic (Loire-Atlantique).
A glass of fruit juice is served to the 22-month-old girl.
She takes two sips and screams in pain.
The brew, which burns her badly in her mouth and esophagus, was actually a strong detergent made from caustic soda.
Two and a half years after the facts, the owner of the establishment appears on Tuesday at the Saint-Nazaire criminal court for involuntary injuries and endangering the lives of others.
The investigation showed that the detergent, used for the restaurant's dishwasher, was regularly stored in old juice bottles.
And one of those bottles was accidentally served.
About twenty operations
Since the accident, Elisabeth has undergone about twenty operations, sometimes extremely heavy.
Unable to swallow properly, she is fed by a tube connected to her stomach.
Her mother had to stop her professional activity to manage her daughter's daily care.
At L'Auberge de La Fontaine aux Bretons, an internal investigation led to changes in the restaurant's workforce.
The boss, very marked by the accident, also asked his supplier to change the color and texture of the product in order to avoid the slightest risk of confusion.
Society
Pornic: intoxicated with caustic soda, a girl has not eaten for a year
Nantes
Nantes: The Manoir de la Régate and the Roza receive their first star in the “Michelin Guide”
Saint Nazaire
Pornic
Accident
Justice