It is in a small remote room in the Rennes Court of Appeal that one of the most emblematic cases in the fight against green algae could find its epilogue. It is there, in the darkness of a courtroom of the resplendent parliament of Brittany, that the family of Thierry Morfoisse delivers what looks like its last fight. This truck driver died at the wheel of his truck on July 22, 2009 in Binic, in the Côtes-d’Armor.
Employee of the company Nicol Environnement, the 48-year-old man was responsible for transporting green algae collected on the beach to take them to the treatment plant. For several years, his death had not aroused any particular suspicions. But over the dramas involving horses, boars and even a jogger, the question of who was responsible for the green algae arose. Since 2015, the family of the former driver has been fighting to have his death recognized as a work accident, which his employer is contesting. On Wednesday, it was before the Court of Appeal of the Social Security Affairs Court that the lawyers unveiled their arguments.
No mask or detector in the truck
This day in July 2009, Thierry Morfoisse died of a heart attack. Even his family’s lawyer admits it. “He wouldn’t have died that day if he hadn’t had a weak heart. I don’t dispute that. But he wouldn’t have died that day if he hadn’t been exposed to the green algae. Or if he had been trained, if he had been equipped, ”says Me François Lafforgue, who defends the consorts of the deceased. On board his truck, the driver had neither a mask, nor a sealed cabin, nor a device for measuring the toxicity of the air. In the days preceding his death, several disturbing symptoms had been observed: burning eyes, vomiting, headaches.
According to the lawyer, the Nicol company which employed the deceased “could not ignore the danger” of transporting green algae. When they go into putrefaction, the Ulva give off hydrogen sulphide. A very toxic gas that can be fatal. Did Thierry Morfoisse inhale it? The refusal of his partner to authorize an autopsy had complicated the search for truth but the blood analysis carried out after the accident had shown a concentration of 1.4 mg per liter of blood. “Which is huge,” notes his lawyer.
Issue ? The bottle was not stored in good conditions, which could have distorted the result. “We are only on assumptions in this case, that is the problem. He wasn’t handling H2S, he wasn’t handling green algae, he was just transporting them. The reality is that Mr. Morfoisse, he was a smoker and smoked two packs a day, he had cholesterol and had high blood pressure, ”tackles the company’s lawyer.
“His daughter does not want this drama to go unfinished”
Always dismissed from their requests, the family had seen the Social Security business court recognize “the professional nature” of the death of Thierry Morfoisse in 2021, considering it a work accident. But without recognizing the “inexcusable fault” of the company Nicol Environnement, pushing the family to appeal. Meeting on Wednesday, the Rennes Court of Appeal reserved its decision and will deliver its conclusions on October 4. A date that will undoubtedly be the last hope of the family to obtain compensation. “His daughter does not want this drama to go unfinished. It is not a question of allowances. It’s a much broader question. Did he die from green algae? “Asks Me François Lafforgue.