Shark attack at Baie Orientale: the State and the Collectivité found liable
Almost six years after the death of a 38-year-old swimmer, who was attacked by a tiger shark at Baie Orientale, the courts have ordered the State and the Collectivité of Saint-Martin to pay her family compensation of €82,800.
On 10 December 2020, a woman lost her life after being attacked by a tiger shark approximately 150 metres from the shore. Sixteen members of her family took legal action to seek compensation, claiming €268,000.
The court found that there had been failings in risk prevention. The presence of sharks in the island’s waters had been known and monitored since 2011. Two days before the tragedy, a dead tiger shark had also been found on another beach. However, no warnings, swimming restrictions or safety measures had been put in place. Under the law, responsibility for policing swimming within 300 metres of the shore lies with the local authority, which is required to warn of dangers exceeding those which a normally cautious swimmer might expect. In the event of a failure to do so, it is the Prefect’s responsibility to take over. The court, however, found that the victim had been partly at fault for swimming in murky water, thereby reducing the authorities’ liability by 10 per cent.
The State and the Local Authority were therefore ordered jointly and severally to pay €40,500 for the victim’s suffering and €42,300 for the emotional distress suffered by his relatives, plus interest and legal costs. In September, the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal rejected the State’s application to suspend the enforcement of the judgement. The compensation therefore remains payable.
