Sofien… My Son, My Struggle
First, I will recount our legal ordeal and my relentless struggle to try to understand what happened on the evening of Sunday, December 11, 2016, and second, I will describe the insurance company’s unethical behavior toward us.
Unfortunately, I am unable to disclose the name of the insurance company; however, this experience has helped me better understand their slogan, which I had previously misunderstood… Indeed, when you need their support, you get “Zero Blabla,” and for my children and me, they’re “Zero Hassle”…
On the other hand, I have no intention of hiding behind anonymity, ……
My eldest son, Sofien, aged 18, died on Sunday, December 11, 2016, as a result of a traffic accident that occurred around 7:30 p.m. in the town of Sireuil (24), at a place known as “Le Goulet.” He was coming from Sarlat and was on his way home (to Montendre in Charente-Maritime).
The accident occurred on a straight stretch of road. He had driven only 16 km. The vehicle suddenly veered into the left lane and crashed into a tree. Despite the force of the impact, the vehicle’s airbags did not deploy during the head-on collision.
I should point out that my son, as confirmed by the police, was not tired (I spoke to him on the phone about 30 to 45 minutes before the incident; he was doing just fine, and he told me that the road was clear, no rain, no black ice, that he had slept in that very morning, and that he had spent the afternoon decorating the Christmas tree at his girlfriend’s mother’s house, where he had spent the weekend), did not have his cell phone with him (something I strongly suspected, knowing my child well and his safety-conscious nature; the phone was found on silent mode, in his backpack, which was in the trunk of the vehicle), and was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs (my son did not drink or smoke).
When I went to the scene of the accident the day after the incident, accompanied by officers from the Bugue police station and my family and friends, I noticed that my son must have swerved to the left (as if to avoid an obstacle). There were no skid marks on the road. An elderly man was there. I thought he must have been the person who had called for help the day before. He told me that wasn’t the case, that he had been with his cows when he heard the crash, and that by the time he had herded his cows and made his way to the accident site ( no more than 10 minutes, he specified), emergency responders were already there and there was no one else present. He was surprised that emergency responders had arrived so quickly. He also explained to us that, given the high wire-mesh fence surrounding the Croc-Magnon quarry (across from the accident site), no animals can get through and therefore cross the road at that location.
Someone called for help right away and didn't stay at the scene!!!!
That day, the police officer who was there advised me against going to see my son’s car, saying—and I quote—“I’m afraid that if you see the car, you’ll never be able to sleep again…” I listened to him.
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, I went to the Bugue police station to retrieve my child’s belongings as well as the items that had been in the vehicle, and to give a statement as part of a complaint filed against “X” for involuntary manslaughter. I also wanted to know the gendarmerie’s plans regarding an inspection of the vehicle, at least to find out why the airbags did not deploy during the collision and to check whether there were any marks on the bodywork indicating contact with another vehicle, as well as to understand why the person who called for help did not remain at the scene until emergency responders arrived…
On Friday, January 6, 2017, I went to the town hall in Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil to have my family record book updated. That afternoon, I returned to the scene of the accident to try to make sense of what had happened. I took several photos of the scene and filmed vehicles approaching from the same direction and from the opposite direction as my son had been traveling. No vehicle crossed the broken center line. Furthermore, vehicles coming from the opposite direction were emerging from a “gentle” curve where the line is broken (indicating that passing is permitted). I should note that I had to wait several minutes to film any vehicles on a Friday afternoon, as there wasn’t much traffic on the road.
On Saturday, January 7, 2017, I went to the Bugue police station to give a statement.I took the opportunity while I was there to tell the officer who interviewed me that I strongly believed a vehicle had ended up in front of my son’s car; this would have forced him to swerve left to avoid it, and that, given the rut on the shoulder, my son would have lost control of the vehicle. I asked if the person who had called for help had been interviewed; I was told that they had, but that this person had not remained at the scene and had not even gone to the vehicle to assist my son. I would like to clarify that the emergency responders and the police confirmed that my son was indeed alive when they arrived, though unconscious, and that he subsequently went into cardiac arrest and, despite their efforts, the emergency responders were unable to revive him. I asked why he hadn’t stayed at the scene and why he hadn’t tried to help my child, but I received no answer.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, I called the Bugue police station again. I was toldthat no forensic examination would be conducted on the vehicle my childwas driving (a vehicle loaned by one of his paternal uncles), since my son was alone in the vehicle and no evidence had been found to suggest that another vehicle was involved. I am appalled that they aren’t even trying to find out why the airbags didn’t deploy, and that they tell me “I need to move on, that I still have five other children.”
On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, Ms. “X,” a claims adjuster for the insurance company (the vehicle’s insurer), came to my home and informed me that the insurance company would not be requesting a vehicle inspection either, since the vehicle was only covered under third-party liability, and went so far as to tell me that I needed to contact the firefighters who responded to the accident to obtain the contact information for the SMUR doctor, in order to request “a death certificate with details of the injuries”!! The SMUR secretary was just as dismayed as I was. In light of these refusals regarding the requests for vehicle inspections, I contacted my insurance company and demanded that they cover the costs of the vehicle inspection (regarding my liability coverage and legal assistance). They also refused.
On June 26, 2017, a request for further investigation was therefore submitted to the Bugue Police Department (24). Since then, the vehicle has remained in storage at the garage (with the storage costs being borne by me personally), and no expert assessment has been ordered. Furthermore, the gendarmerie has not conducted any investigation or sought out any evidence.
After repeatedly pressing the gendarmerie in Le Bugue and Rouffignac (yes, the case involving my child has been passed around quite a bit), I finally learned that the gendarmerie had concluded its investigation in late July 2017, but the Bergerac District Attorney’s Office had not.
Having heard nothing from the Bugue police station or the prosecutor’s office, I contacted the doctor who had been at the scene on the day of the accident and met with him at the Sarlat Regional Hospital on October 11, 2017. At the same time, I went to the garage to see my child’s vehicle and take photographs in case the vehicle was sent to be scrapped against my will.
Not having the nerve to “inspect” the photos of the vehicle right away, I waited several days before taking a closer look…When I finally looked at them, I realized that the bumper was intact even though the entire front of the vehicle was bent into a “V” shape (from a head-on collision with a tree), as if the bumper hadn’t even been on the vehicle at the moment of impact!!!
I therefore contacted the Prosecutor of Bergerac again to bring this matter to her attention, and at the same time, I contacted the Prefect of the Dordogne…The Prefect contacted me to inform me that she had notified the Colonel of the Dordogne Gendarmerie Brigade. I therefore contacted the Colonel of the Dordogne Gendarmerie Brigade, forwarding him all the correspondence I had sent to all the relevant agencies, along with a USB drive containing photos of the vehicle and the accident scene… (I should note that I sent a copy of this USB drive to all the parties involved).
Since I still hadn’t heard anything, I was interviewed by the police in my town in early 2018 at the request of the District Attorney of Saintes (my department), so that we could resume the investigation “back home,” since the police in the 24th department had closed it. Following that, I learned from the Prosecutor of Saintes and my lawyer, via the Gironde Regional Court, that the case had been reopened in the 24th department!!!! (However, I regret the lack of information coming from the Dordogne)…..
As of now, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, this is where we stand!!!!
Now, here’s what I’m going through with the insurance company …….
On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, when the insurance company’s claims adjuster visited my home, I provided her (at her request) with a certificate from the CAF confirming that my son Sofien was indeed living with me, a death certificate, the invoice for funeral expenses, and the father’s contact information, telling her that he had paid for these expenses in advance, so they should be reimbursed to him. She asked me for the “death certificate with a description of the injuries” (which is illegal), as well as a copy of the family record book. These documents were sent on January 23, 2017, via email.
She knew that I didn't have the car insurance policy, since I wasn't the owner (the car had been lent to me by a paternal uncle).
She informed me that there was no driver coverage on the insurance policy and that her company would not cover the cost of the damage assessment; and since I was filing a complaint against “X” to obtain more information about the possible causes of the accident, she was putting the case on hold…Furthermore, she said that the emotional distress suffered by Sofien’s younger brothers would not be taken into account and that I could only claim a tiny sum for myself!!!! I found this response appalling and shocking given the tragedy that the children and I were going through. I requested psychological support at least for the siblings (Sofien was the eldest of six boys), and she replied that this was not provided for!!!!
I refused to let the vehicle be sent to the scrapyard until it had been inspected. Since I couldn't afford to pay for the inspection myself, I'm stuck with the storage fees!!!
In late October 2017, after getting in touch with the Collectif Justice pour les Vistimes de la Route—and I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to Maud Esciva—I learned that auto insurance policies are required to include driver coverage; otherwise, the customer would have to sign a waiver…
On November 9, 2017, I managed to get my hands on the insurance policy, and it does indeed include “driver coverage”!!!
On November 14, 2017, I contacted Ms. “X” by phone, asking her again if there was a “driver’s coverage” clause in the insurance policy. She hesitated, and when I told her that I had the policy in my possession, as did my law firm, she replied that it was surely a “mistake”….Furthermore, she had no proof that my son actually lived with me… I reminded her of the CAF document, and she replied that it wasn’t sufficient for her. So, I emailed her letters addressed to my son with my address. At that point, she agreed to send me an email by the end of the week with an advance on the death benefit for emotional distress… I explained to her that we might need to quickly consider reimbursing Sofien’s father for the funeral expenses and sent her his contact information and the invoice…
On November 23, 2017, no contact was made with Sofien’s father. I am sending a registered letter to the insurance company’s management.
On December 4, 2017, I sent her another email—a bit less polite than the previous ones—to find out the status of the reimbursement for the funeral expenses. She replied that “she found my email disrespectful, threatened to drop the case, claimed that if she wanted to, she wouldn’t have to pay anything because the vehicle was covered by third-party insurance, and that she didn’t have the police report… She eventually agreed to cover the funeral expenses and provide an advance payment on the condition that I provide her with the blood alcohol and drug test results (which I have no reason to have in my possession) and a photocopy of the family register.
She tells me she doesn't know if a third party was involved in the accident and asks me for photos of the car…
On December 7, 2017, I received a call from the insurance company’s management. The woman I spoke with told me that she was taking charge of the case and would look into reimbursing the funeral expenses and providing an advance payment…
On December 14, 2017, I received a settlement offer. Still no reimbursement for funeral expenses!!!!
On March 26, 2018, I received through my lawyer a settlement offer for emotional distress in the amount of 25,000.00 euros (twenty-five thousand euros) intended solely for me (the mother), with no consideration given to Sofien’s younger brothers or even his father……but no reimbursement for funeral expenses. It was like, “Let’s just give her that so she’ll leave us alone”….
So I decided to sue the insurance company!!!
Here is the email I sent to my lawyer to explain my reasons:
“Master,
As agreed during our phone conversation on April 28, I am writing to confirm that I am rejecting the compensation offer from Company “X” regarding emotional distress.
As I have informed you, my decision is based on the fact that this company behaved in an unacceptable manner following the death of my child (the funeral expenses, despite my numerous reminders, were never covered by this organization), the claims adjuster also repeatedly maintained that the vehicle’s insurance policy did not include driver coverage until I was able to obtain said policy from a third party, and only acknowledged this fact after I sent her a copy via email; furthermore, the refusal to have the vehicle inspected, thereby forcing me to go personally to the garage to take photographs of the car in which my child died, which revealed that the condition of the vehicle contained inconsistencies relative to the impact sustained (the front bumper was undamaged despite the head-on collision), a fact that also did not result in an inspection…
I do understand that financial considerations—not empathy—are “X’s” priority, but to go so far as to take advantage of our tragedy and our distress in order to speculate on our financial and family situation is more than indecent!!! As a victim of such a tragedy, it seems only fair to expect an insurance company to honor the terms of the signed contract by covering (at the very least) the funeral expenses to support the family. Given that my own financial means were insufficient to cover such costs, if Sofien’s father hadn’t received financial assistance from relatives to pay them, I therefore ask: “How could I have buried my child????… Is it normal to pay for insurance if they don’t fulfill their duty???? Perhaps I should have ‘put my son’s body on hold’ until I had the financial means to bury him (I know this question is shocking, even indecent, but it is simply the response given by ‘X’ to our tragedy)???? “
How can people (because even though “X” is an insurance company, the people I spoke with were indeed “human beings” and not robots) come all the way to my home, lying about the fact that there was no driver’s coverage (so as not to honor their contract and thus pay nothing), inflict upon us, on top of the pain we have already endured, the uncertainty regarding the payment of my child’s funeral expenses, claim that Sofien’s younger brothers did not suffer emotional distress, and calculate—based on who knows what criteria—an amount for emotional distress on my part???? What do these people know about what I’m going through and what I’ve had to endure on top of that because of their profiteering? When did they ever try to contact me to find out what our daily life was like? What effort was made to ensure that at least my sons were seen by a psychologist to assess their trauma and try to understand the consequences this tragedy will have on them?
Money isn’t everything in this world, but unfortunately, these organizations operate solely on financial rather than humanitarian grounds… Therefore, to ensure that insurers do not repeat such behavior in the future, I feel compelled to “speak their language” to make myself understood—in other words, to “hit them where it hurts.” In light of the vehicle’s insurance policy and its terms, I am therefore claiming the stipulated amount allocated in the event of the driver’s death as compensation for emotional distress as a parent, reimbursement of funeral expenses to the father (who can prove he paid them) plus late payment penalties at the current rate from the date the expenses were paid, compensation for emotional distress in light of the company’s conduct toward me, as well as toward my sons, who are unable to pay their respects at a proper gravesite due to “X”’s failure to fulfill its obligations. I also note that this group’s breach of contract, in light of the provisions of the contract clauses, constitutes clear false advertising.
I am at your disposal and thank you for your professionalism and support in this matter.
Best regards,
"Karine Caradu"
I know that for people who have never experienced the horrors that have shattered our lives forever, it’s very hard to understand why we keep fighting this battle. But to all those who tell me, “It’s pointless, you’re wasting your time, think of yourself, enjoy your five children—it won’t bring him back… ” (and I’m sure almost all of us have heard these words that make us doubt ourselves), I reply: “From the moment I began carrying my sons, I became their mother, and nothing—not even death—will change that, and for Sofien as well as for his little brothers, I will always fight !!! I’m not “crazy”; I need to know what happened on Sunday, December 11, 2016, on that road that cost my child his life. Maybe one day his little brothers will hear me say that I’ve always searched, but never found the answer—but never that I didn’t want to know or refused to fight to uncover the truth!!!! »
When it comes to “justice” in our country, it is unfortunately only when we are confronted with these horrors that we realize, sadly, that justice is fair in name only!!!! I never would have imagined coming to the conclusion that it is permissible to kill someone with a vehicle!!! Whenever I read court rulings regarding homicides on our roads, I always think to myself: “If you take a gun—without a permit—and kill anyone on the street (even without being under the influence of alcohol or drugs), you get at least 20 years in prison; but if you kill the same person with your car, you get a maximum of 18 months with three-quarters of the sentence suspended, or even an ankle monitor, and in the worst case, a fine of 50 to 200 euros…”…food for thought……