Recently, a student at Ludong University in Yantai, Shandong Province was hit in the head by a falling "ice skate" (ice pick) and died due to severe head injury.
According to ** previously reported, the building that fell into the ice was the No. 3 dormitory building on the South Campus of Ludong University. The first, second and second floors of the building are shops facing Hongqi West Road, and the area above the shops is a student dormitory. After the incident, a cordon was set up on the steps in front of the shop, and there were some broken ice cubes on the ground nearby, and there were a few ice picks on the eaves on the west side of the roof. On the wall near the place of the incident, a warning sign is hung that reads "Beware of falling objects".
After this incident, it sparked a discussion among the public on how to divide the responsibility for such "ice skates" hurting people.
Lawyer: Can be suspected of negligence causing death or negligence causing serious injury
Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner and lawyer at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, told The Paper (www.) on January 8In terms of civil liability, in accordance with Article 1253 of the Civil Code, if the owner, structure or other facilities and their shelves and hanging objects fall off or fall and cause damage to others, and the owner, manager or user cannot prove that he is not at fault, he shall bear tort liability. After the owner, manager or user makes compensation, if there are other responsible persons, they have the right to recover from the other responsible persons.
Article 1165 of the Civil Code stipulates that if the actor infringes upon the civil rights and interests of others and causes harm due to his fault, he shall bear tort liability. Where it is presumed that the actor is at fault in accordance with the provisions of law, and he cannot prove that he is not at fault, he shall bear tort liability.
Article 1172 also stipulates that where two or more persons separately commit tortious acts and cause the same damage, and the extent of responsibility can be determined, each of them shall bear corresponding responsibility;Where it is difficult to determine the size of the responsibility, the responsibility is to be borne equally.
Zhao Liangshan emphasized that Article 2, Item 7 of the "Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Properly Hearing Cases of Throwing and Falling Objects from High Altitude in Accordance with Law" stipulates that "the crime of falling objects from high altitudes shall be accurately determined", and if negligently causes items to fall from a high altitude, causing death or serious injury, and meets the provisions of articles 233 and 235 of the Criminal Law, it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the crimes of negligence causing death and negligence causing serious injury. Whoever violates the relevant safety management regulations in production or operation, falls objects from a height, and a major accident occurs or causes other serious consequences, it is to be convicted and punished as the crime of major liability accident in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Criminal Law article 134. This also means that if an ice skate on a building falls and causes a person**, it is suspected of the crime of negligence causing death or negligence causing serious injury, and the relevant subjects can be investigated for criminal liability.
Xing Xin, a senior partner and lawyer at Hunan Jinzhou Law Firm, believes that the school, as the owner, and the property and bottom merchant operators, as the managers and users, are suspected of constituting tort liability, and have the obligation to clean up the hanging objects in a timely manner, or at least place eye-catching signs to warn passers-by.
Xing Xin suggested that the families of the victim students should fix the evidence in a timely manner and claim compensation for infringement liability from the relevant subjects. In this case, the subject of tort liability is the owner, manager and user of the building, so it is necessary to identify the user of the relevant floor according to the specific location of the icicle. If the ice pick is located on top of the bottom merchant, the school, the property, and the bottom merchant are all liable;If the ice pick is located on an unrelated floor, the school and the property will be held responsible.
Precedent: The property company bears 80% of the primary liability
In winter, the "ice skates" of the eaves fall and smash people and cars.
On December 17, 2023, downstairs of a unit in Zhifu District, Yantai, Shandong, a car was smashed through the rear windshield by an ice pick falling from the eaves;On February 24, 2023, a woman in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, was hit by an ice pick on the eaves while walkingOn February 26, 2023, a man in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, was hit by an "ice skate" falling from the sky when he was driving a taxi across a viaduct, and the front windshield was cracked.
In recent years, there has been an increase in civil disputes caused by "ice skates" injuring people, and some cities have clarified the responsibilities of property management. Article 13 of the Heilongjiang Residential Property Management Regulations, which came into effect on March 1, 2021, clearly states that the foundation, load-bearing structure, exterior wall, roof and other basic structural parts of a building belong to the property management area and belong to the owners in accordance with the law, which also shows that snow removal is the responsibility of the property.
According to a case of "ice skate" injuring people by an "ice skate" released by the Daoli District Court of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province on March 22, 2023, the plaintiff Zhang was knocked unconscious on the spot by a falling ice pick when he went out for a walk with his family, and his son was also hit. After investigation, it was found that the falling ice came from the outer wall of a residential building managed by a property management company, and it may have been the falling ice on the external air conditioner of a hotel. However, both the property and the hotel shirk their responsibilities. In the end, the court ruled that a property company failed to clean up the ice picks on the exterior wall in a timely manner, and did not set up safety warning signs or take safety measures, and failed to fulfill the manager's management obligations, and assumed 80% of the main liability for compensationAlthough there was ice on top of the air-conditioner and the air-conditioner was also damaged by falling ice, the possibility of the plaintiff suffering damage caused by the ice accumulation on the air-conditioner was not ruled out, and the plaintiff was liable for 20% of the secondary damages.
In order to avoid the recurrence of the tragedy of "ice skates" smashing people and cars, many cities have carried out the investigation of hidden dangers in housing safety. On November 7, 2023, Heilongjiang carried out a safety inspection of housing construction in the province, including re-investigation and re-rectification of urban and rural houses, timely removal of roof snow, snow mounds, and "ice skates", and early warning of locations that are prone to ice and slideOn January 3, 2023, there were many "ice skates" hanging on the upper floors of a residential area in Changji, Xinjiang, and the community cadres asked the fire department for help to ensure the safety of the masses.
The Daoli District Court of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province has issued a reminder that some owners, units, houses, and shops on the street that are prone to "ice skates" with external air conditioners and range hoods, as well as houses and plaques, should pay attention to preventing the "ice skates" formed by the flowing water after the temperature rises, clean them up in time, and pay attention to preventing the "ice skates" from falling in the air and injuring people.
Lawyer Zhao Liangshan also reminded passers-by to stay away from buildings with ice skates hanging on the eaves when going out, and pay attention to whether there are ice skates above their heads to avoid being injured by falling ice skates. At the same time, the owner, manager or user of the building should be aware of the risk and hazard of falling ice skates, and fulfill the obligation to clean up in a timely manner, so as to ensure the safety of passers-by's heads.
*: The Paper reporter Liao Yan.