Published on
update
For the first time, Inrae (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment) has just recognized that two employees, including one from Toulouse, who died in 2019 and 2021 from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, better known as mad cow disease, had probably been contaminated by a prion research laboratory accident, thus paving the way for a criminal lawsuit for compensation.
The Inrae board of directors voted “unanimously” for a resolution making “the link between the development of the disease and accidents at work, by puncture or cut with contaminated material”, announced CEO Philippe Mauguin.$
A preliminary investigation in progress
A 33-year-old engineer, Emilie Jaumain, and a retired agent died in 2019 and 2021 after contracting the disease, which leads to degeneration of the central nervous system.
A complaint was filed on June 14, 2019, for manslaughter. A preliminary investigation is underway. “My clients want to go through with the procedure and won’t give up,” says Me Bensimhon.