What should I do if I am injured while traveling?
Court: Entertainment venues and other business establishments that fail to fulfill their safety and security obligations and cause damage to others shall bear tort liability.
During the just-concluded Spring Festival holiday, many people chose to travel long distances or short distances. Who is liable if personal injury occurs while traveling? What principles should be followed in the division of responsibilities? On February 18, the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing used several cases to analyze the issue of liability and rights for personal injuries during play.
Case 1: A tourist is injured on a "snowmobile", and the operator fails to give a safety warning and needs to be compensated.
The Beijing News reporter learned that in one case, Ms. Wu bought a ticket for the ice and snow carnival at a certain venue and participated in the ski play project "bobsleigh", that is, riding a tire to slide down from the top of the snow slope. However, Ms. Wu was diagnosed with a ligament injury to her left ankle due to the narrowness of the slope, which caused her foot to be crushed by the slope due to the narrow slope.
Ms. Wu argued that there were potential safety hazards in the amusement project, and that Company A, as the operator of the Ice and Snow Carnival, should be liable for compensation for failing to provide corresponding safety reminders, and that Mr. Liu, as the sole shareholder of Company A, should be jointly and severally liable. Company B, as the lessor of the venue, shall also bear joint and several liability for joint operation with Company A. Therefore, Ms. Wu sued the three to the court.
Company A and Mr. Liu did not make a reply. Company B argued that it was only the lessor of the venue, not the operator, and did not bear the obligation to ensure safety, and did not agree with Ms. Wu's claim.
After trial, the court held that if an entertainment venue or other business venue fails to fulfill its safety guarantee obligations and causes damage to others, it shall bear tort liability. In this case, Ms. Wu was injured at the premises involved in the case, and Company A, as the operator and manager of the premises where the incident occurred, failed to fulfill its safety protection obligations such as safety warnings during Ms. Wu's participation in the "snowmobile" of the ski recreation project, so it should bear the corresponding tort liability. At the same time, Ms. Wu, as an adult, should also fulfill her duty of care in the process of participating in entertainment activities with a certain degree of stimulation.
In summary, the court determined that the proportion of liability to be borne by Company A was 80%. Ms. Wu's claim against Company B for tort liability was lacking in basis and could not be supported. Since Mr. Liu, as a shareholder of Company A, a one-person limited liability company, had no evidence to prove that the company's property and shareholders were independent of each other, Ms. Wu's claim that Mr. Liu and Company A should bear joint and several liability was based on law and upheld by the court.
The court finally ordered Company A and Mr. Liu to compensate Ms. Wu for medical expenses (including medical protective gear fees), nutrition expenses, lost work expenses, nursing expenses, and transportation expenses totaling 15,63553 yuan.
Judge's tip. As a consumer, you should reasonably assess the risks of participating in the program and act within your means. Especially for the elderly and children, it is necessary to be more cautious in choosing amusement projects that are too risky to avoid personal injury accidents. When choosing amusement projects, attention should also be paid to whether the amusement site has sufficient safety and risk response capabilities to reduce the risk of personal injury. As the operator of the amusement park, you should ensure that the facilities of the venue meet the relevant safety requirements, give written safety tips to tourists, and at the same time can purchase accident insurance, and in case of accidents, you can claim compensation from the insurance company.
Case 2: A child falls from a park observation deck and both parents and the park are responsible.
In another case, Ms. Song and her seven-year-old son Xiao Ming went to a forest park to play, and when they visited an observation deck, Xiao Ming fell from a viewing platform more than two meters high and injured himself, and was later diagnosed by the hospital with head trauma, skull fracture, intracranial hemorrhage, and lower limb trauma, which required brace fixation, for which Xiao Ming's family paid medical expenses of 3,79152 yuan (including brace fee 490 yuan). At the time of the incident, there were no safety protection facilities such as guardrails and no danger warning signs at the observation deck. Xiao Ming's family sued the company that operated the park to the court.
The operating company argued that the observation deck in question was a site and that the site could be damaged if the guardrail was designed. The company does have certain responsibilities in terms of safety and security, but Xiao Ming, as a minor, and his parents should also fulfill their responsibilities of care, so the company agrees to bear 50% of the medical expenses and transportation expenses, and does not agree to pay nursing fees, ** and plastic surgery fees, missed school make-up fees, and spiritual solace funds.
After the trial, the court held that, on the one hand, parents have a duty to raise, educate and protect their minor children. The parents are the guardians of the minor children, and in this case, Xiao Ming is under the age of 8 and is a person with no capacity for civil conduct, and Ms. Song, as the guardian, took him on a mountain tour and failed to fulfill her duty of proper care, causing Xiao Ming to fall and injure herself, and Ms. Song bears corresponding responsibility. On the other hand, if the operators and managers of business premises or public places fail to fulfill their safety obligations and cause damage to others, they shall bear tort liability. In this case, the operating company, as the operator and manager, failed to set up safety protection facilities such as guardrails on the observation deck, nor did it set up hazard warning signs, so it should be determined that it failed to fulfill its safety guarantee obligations and bear corresponding responsibility for Xiao Ming's fall injury. Combining the above two aspects, the court decided that the operating company should bear 50% of the liability.
The court finally ruled that the operating company should compensate Xiao Ming for medical expenses and transportation expenses of 223176 yuan.
Judge's tip. When traveling with children, parents should pay attention to the environment and be highly aware of the possible risky behaviors of their children. If the child is injured in an accident, parents should pay attention to keeping evidence such as consumption vouchers, hospital records, diagnosis certificates, medical invoices, and proof of reasonable expenses for the child's care, so as to prepare for future rights protection.
Beijing News reporter Zhang Jingshu correspondent Yang Yang.