Recently, a case of falling injuries to the exterior wall tiles of the community in Jingyuan County, Gansu Province was ruled in the final trial, which attracted widespread attention. Five years before the incident, Gao Moumou was injured by a tile piece falling off the outer wall of the community in the family building community of Jingyuan Rural Commercial Bank, resulting in a seventh-degree disability in his left lower limb and a tenth-degree disability in his head. The final judgment designated 60 households to jointly compensate Gao Moumou 363,62459 yuan, and the Rural Commercial Bank was also sentenced to joint and several liability.
According to the court's judgment, Gao Moumou sued all 60 households in the building, and finally the court determined that the 60 households should bear the liability for compensation. However, this ruling raises some questions: Is the fall off of the façade caused by the 60 households? Shouldn't builders and developers be held responsible?
In response to this problem, legal experts pointed out that when dealing with disputes similar to high-altitude throwing and falling objects, the law often adopts the principle of presumption of fault because it is difficult to find the direct infringer. In this case, the property did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that it had fulfilled the necessary management and care obligations, and was therefore found liable for damages caused by the falling exterior walls.
Although 60 households were awarded compensation in the ruling, this does not mean that the builders and developers are exempt from liability. Experts said that the law has different principles for attribution of liability for damage caused by falling objects, collapsed objects and thrown objects, and for such cases, the principle of presumption of fault should be applied. Therefore, builders and developers are equally liable for damages if they fail to provide sufficient evidence to prove that they have fulfilled the necessary management and care obligations.
Gao's five-year long wait finally ushered in justice. This case has aroused the attention of the society to the safety and management responsibilities of buildings, and also reminded relevant units to pay more attention to details and safety in property management to prevent similar incidents from happening again.