In April 2023, Chen, a 7-year-old child, went shopping in the mall with his family and received two amusement tickets, and then Chen and his family went to the amusement area of the mall to play with the coupons. Because the two parties could not reach an agreement on compensation, Chen sued the operator of the shopping mall and the amusement area to the court, demanding joint compensation of more than 20,000 yuan for medical expenses, nursing expenses and other losses.
The Fengtai People's Court held after trial that the operators and managers of hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, airports, stadiums, entertainment venues and other business venues and public places, or the organizers of mass activities, should bear tort liability if they fail to fulfill their safety and security obligations and cause damage to others. As a business venue, the operators and managers of the amusement area involved in the case should fulfill their safety obligations to ensure the safety of the play environment.
In this case, the road surface at the site of the accident was obviously uneven, and there was a risk of pedestrians falling and injuring, but the operator and manager did not set up corresponding warning signs at the uneven road surface at the time of the incident, so the operator and manager were at fault for the occurrence of the accident. At the same time, if the infringed party is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the infringer's liability may be reduced. Chen X is a minor, and his guardian also has guardianship duties, and Chen X ran and jumped in the area involved in the case, and the guardian failed to remind him to stop it in time, and he was also at fault. Therefore, both parties were at fault for the accident involved in the case, and in light of the specific circumstances of the case, the court determined that the operators and managers in the area involved in the case bore the main responsibility and bore 70% of the compensation liability. In the end, the court ruled that the operator and the manager should jointly compensate Chen more than 8,000 yuan.
According to the first paragraph of Article 1198 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the safety and security obligations of operators and managers are not limited to the use and operation of facilities in the venue, but also necessary preventive measures should be taken to prevent the occurrence of hazards that may exist in the process of setting up and operating facilities, including setting up warning signs and reminding of dangers. At the same time, consumers should also pay attention to their own safety when entering public places to prevent dangers. Therefore, the tort liability for breach of security obligations should be subject to the principle of attribution of fault liability, and the proportion of liability should be reasonably determined according to the degree of fault of both parties.
At present, holidays and weekends, going out to play has become the preferred choice of many parents with their children, but children are injured in the process of playing also occur from time to time, this case is a typical case of children injured in the process of playing, in order to better enjoy the fun of playing, the judge specially reminds as follows:
Managers and operators should increase their awareness of risks. Managers and operators should be aware of the scope of their safety and security obligations, not only in the operation area, but also in the area of the operation area, such as strengthening safety tips and personnel patrols to ensure the safety of the game process.
Managers and operators should enhance their sense of responsibility. Managers and operators should strengthen internal management, improve the ability to deal with emergencies, reserve the necessary professional and technical personnel, and be able to deal with accidents in a timely manner to prevent the expansion of damage consequences.
Guardians should strengthen the care of minors. Minors, especially children, have strong curiosity and insufficient risk awareness, so parents should strengthen the care of children, and promptly remind and stop children's risky activities to prevent accidents.
Text: Zhang Yanling (Beijing Fengtai District People's Court).
Beijing Youth Daily).