Blast ends in huge payout

A FRENCH court in the town of Montauban has awarded a million-euro payout to a woman whose skull was cracked by an exploding whipped cream dispenser.

The woman’s attorney, Emeline Petitgirard, said the case of Emilie Lada, who was 30 at the time, was tragic – the “colossal” €1.09 million ($A1.62 million) sum is “for a life snatched away”.

When the whipped cream cannister exploded in December 2013 it cracked Ms Lada’s skull, prompted intracranial bleeding and tore off part of her face. Ms Lada can no longer work and has lost her sense of taste and smell.