The child was caught in the escalator of the mall and had one finger broken, should the mall be held responsible?Let's take a look at the surveillance screen at the time of the incident. Tong Tong and his mother, who were 19 months old at the time, and her mother in the B2 area of a shopping mall in Minhang District, Shanghai, said afterwards that because the weather was a little cold, she turned around to help Tong Tong get a hat, leaving Tong Tong alone. We can see that after her mother left suddenly, Tong Tong began to look around, anxiously looking for her mother, and then ran in the direction of the escalator, only to fall on the escalator's pedals. At this time, the mother realized the danger and rushed over to pick up Tong Tong who fell on the escalator, however, at this time, the middle finger of Tong Tong's right hand had been broken by the elevator and the blood was not stopping. Subsequently, with the cooperation of the shopping mall, Tong Tong's severed middle finger was found, but after the operation, the middle finger was still significantly shorter.
In the event of an injury accident in a public place, whether the operator or manager of the place is responsible, the most important point is to see whether the safety and security obligations have been fulfilled, which is also the focus of this caseThe child's parents believed that the accident was inseparable from the lack of safety and security obligations of the shopping mall, so they sued the shopping mall in court. The shopping mall is required to bear 90% of the responsibility, totaling more than 57,000 yuan. The reasons are:
1. It is illegal to set up children's amusement facilities next to the elevator.
2. In this area with many children, the mall introduced escalators as a source of risk, but did not set up fences and assign special personnel to supervise them, which allowed children to enter the danger zone in just a few seconds.
So, do you think there is any truth to the statement of the parents of the children?However, the court finally accepted the evidence provided by the mall and ruled that the mall did not need to pay financial compensation
In response to the first point, the mall said that the B2 area is only a public area for tourists to rest, not a children's playground, only some tables and chairs with more artistic colors.
Regarding the second point, the shopping mall presented the first evidence on the scene before the incident, and said that it had fulfilled its safety and security obligations: 1. The elevators in the shopping mall have been regularly inspected and are operating normally. 2. There are also obvious safety warning signs next to the escalator where the child was injured. 3. Safety tips can be seen everywhere in other public rest areas, sloped roads or steps in the mall. 4. After the accident, the shopping mall actively cooperated with the treatment, immediately helped to find the severed finger and accompanied the medical treatment, and has tried its best to do a good job of protection.
After trial, the Shanghai Minhang District People's Court held that Tong Tong, as a child under the age of two, was completely incapable of civil conduct. Parents, as their guardians, should pay special attention to some possible risk factors in public places, and the guardians of children are still out of custody of children when they are aware of the possible risks, and the lack of parental supervision is the root cause of this accident.
So, has the mall fulfilled its security obligations?The court held that the evidence proved that the mall had provided safety facilities, provided sufficient safety reminders, and actively cooperated with the rescue afterwards**, and that the mall had fulfilled its duty of safety and security in preventing the risk of personal injury to minors.
In the end, the court did not support the child's parents' claim, and the mall did not need to make financial compensation.
When taking children out, you must not be careless, especially young children, and you must not leave the sight of parents. Parents are the first responsible for the safety of their children's lives, do you agree?
I'm Tao Chun, your legal counselor.