Lauren Casper
A Maltese court has awarded over €1.1 million in damages to the family of a French teenager who was crushed to death by a collapsing wall on the first night of his vacation in 2011. The verdict, delivered more than a decade after the incident, found the owners of a local construction company liable for the tragedy.
Quentin Antoine Marie Michel, 19, had arrived in Malta with a group of 13 friends for a final celebration before they embarked on their university studies. The school-mates had rented a holiday villa in Swieqi, intending to enjoy one last gathering before their paths diverged.
According to court testimony, the group had enjoyed a dinner together on their first evening. Mr. Michel had changed into his bathing suit and rejoined his friends by the villa’s swimming pool. In a fateful moment, he posed for a photograph, pretending to scale a nearby wall. Witnesses stated that Mr. Michel had both hands on top of the wall when it began to tilt.
One of the group members managed to capture the horrifying moment on camera, inadvertently documenting the wall’s collapse onto the teenager. This photograph was later presented as evidence in court.
A magisterial inquiry into the death revealed that the wall in question had been constructed primarily for aesthetic purposes, with little regard for structural integrity. Court experts concluded that there was no binding agent holding the bricks together, nor was there any secure attachment to the exposed rock behind the wall. This lack of proper construction left nothing to prevent the wall’s collapse under minimal pressure.
Based on these findings, the court found James Mifsud and Gordon Farrugia of Buz-Dov Developments, the builders responsible for the wall, liable for Mr. Michel’s death.
In their defense, Mr. Mifsud and Mr. Farrugia attempted to argue that Mr. Michel had contributed to the incident by hanging from the wall. However, Judge Miriam Hayman firmly rejected this argument.
“The most difficult element towards the success of the defence of contributory negligence is whether the deceased, when he accepted to pose for this photo, had any idea that he was putting himself in the danger that in fact occurred, based on reasonable probability, and chose to do so regardless,” Judge Hayman stated in her ruling.
She further questioned, “Was this unfortunate young man, who had been in our country for a mere two or three hours, who chose to pose for this picture supposed to know, if he used logic dictated by normal reasoning and not technical or expert reasoning, the reasoning of the man in the street and that of the tender age of 19, supposed to know that it would have collapsed on top of him the minute it encountered the least bit of pressure?”
While the builders were found liable, the owners of the villa were absolved of responsibility in the incident.
In determining damages, Judge Hayman considered Mr. Michel’s potential career trajectory. Evidence suggested that the young man had intended to enter the tourism industry after completing business school, a path that would likely have resulted in earnings significantly higher than Malta’s minimum wage.
Supported by testimony and statistical data, the court estimated Mr. Michel’s potential annual earnings at €50,400. This figure was then multiplied by 33 years, accounting for his expected working life. After considering various factors, including cost of living, personal expenses, and the pensionable age in France, and applying a 2% reduction due to the immediate nature of a lump-sum payment, the final compensation was set at €1,140,955.
The Michel family was represented by lawyer Michael Zammit Maempel. Representatives for Buz-Dov Developments could not be reached for comment.
This case has reignited discussions about construction safety standards in Malta, particularly in properties catering to the country’s vital tourism industry. It also serves as a stark reminder of how quickly a celebratory vacation can turn tragic, and the enduring impact such incidents have on families and communities.
As Malta grapples with rapid development and a booming tourism sector, this verdict may prompt stricter oversight and enforcement of building regulations, even for seemingly minor structures like decorative walls.
