In recent years, there have been many incidents of high-altitude throwing and falling objects causing personal injuries and property losses. The act of throwing objects from high altitudes is not only a disgusting "lack of morality", but also needs to be constrained and sanctioned by law.
Netizen consultation:
Who is liable for damages caused by high-altitude objects that cause injuries?
Lawyer Li Jun of Beijing Yingke (Wuhan) Law Firm answers:
Where an object thrown from a building or an object falling from a building causes damage to others, the infringer shall bear tort liability in accordance with law;Where it is difficult to determine the specific infringer after investigation, the user of the building who may have caused the harm shall compensate unless it can be proved that he is not the infringer. The user of the building who may have caused the harm has the right to recover compensation from the infringer after compensation. Property management service enterprises and other building managers shall take necessary safety measures to prevent injuries caused by high-altitude throwing objects;Where necessary security measures are not employed, tort liability for failure to perform security obligations shall be borne in accordance with law.
Li Jun, a lawyer at Beijing Yingke (Wuhan) Law Firm, added:
The essential difference between the criminal act of throwing objects from high altitudes and the tort of throwing objects from high altitudes lies in whether the consequences of the infringement of legal interests of the act have reached the level of being regulated by criminal punishment. When the perpetrator carries out the act of throwing objects from a height, as long as the circumstances are serious, a crime may be constituted, and a comprehensive judgment needs to be made on the basis of the quantity, weight, degree of danger, and height of the objects thrown by the perpetrator, the current situation of the persons and property where the items fell, as well as the number of acts and the results caused. In practice, most of the acts of throwing objects from high altitudes that do not cause serious consequences are dealt with through civil means, and the perpetrators of high-altitude objects that cause serious injury or death to the victim will be investigated for criminal liability. Where objects are thrown from buildings or other heights, and the circumstances are serious, a sentence of up to one year imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release is to be given, and/or a fine.
Legal basis] Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 1254: It is forbidden to throw objects from buildings. Where an object thrown from a building or an object falling from a building causes damage to others, the infringer shall bear tort liability in accordance with law;Where it is difficult to determine the specific infringer after investigation, the user of the building who may have caused the harm shall compensate unless it can be proved that he is not the infringer. The user of the building who may have caused the harm has the right to recover compensation from the infringer after compensation.
Property management enterprises and other building managers shall take necessary security measures to prevent the occurrence of the circumstances provided for in the preceding paragraph;Where necessary security measures are not employed, tort liability for failure to perform security obligations shall be borne in accordance with law.
Where the circumstances provided for in the first paragraph of this article occur, the public security and other organs shall promptly investigate in accordance with law and find out who is responsible.
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