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This article is reproduced from [CCTV Today's Statement];

The booth is unattended

An accident occurred while fishing on your own

Pain in the palm

Injuries on the body

Whose fault is it?

The customer sued the supermarket for compensation for various losses

In September 2022, when Ms. Wang (pseudonym) went to a supermarket to buy sea bass, she saw no staff or fishing tools on site, only a few square plastic colanders, which Ms. Wang used to catch the sea bass. While bagging the fish, she was accidentally stabbed in the palm of her right hand by the fish, but she didn't care as she saw only a few drops of blood.

That night, Ms. Wang found that the palm of her hand that was injured by the fishbone became red, swollen and hot, and she began to feel a fever. It continued until the next day and there was no improvement. The palm of her hand that was injured by the fishbone had become red, swollen and ulcerated, so she went to the hospital for emergency treatment. The hospital diagnosed that Ms. Wang's condition was the toxic effect of contact with fish (Vibrio vulnificus infection), skin ulcers on the right upper limb, septic shock, etc., and the situation was very critical. Afterwards, Ms. Wang was discharged from the hospital after 84 days of hospitalization in the hospital's vascular surgery department for sores, snake bites and vascular surgery. In July 2023, Ms. Wang commissioned an appraisal agency to appraise the degree of disability, and the appraisal agency determined that Ms. Wang was eighth-level disabled.

Ms. Wang believed that she was injured while buying fish in the supermarket and that her right to health as a consumer had been violated, so she sued the supermarket to the People's Court of Gulou District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, demanding compensation for medical expenses, disability compensation, nursing expenses, and other losses totaling 225,000 yuan. The supermarket believed that Ms. Wang had failed to fulfill her duty of care and that the supermarket's liability should be reduced.

The court: The damage is not common in life.

Consumers’ duty of care can be mitigated

After trial, the People's Court of Gulou District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province held that supermarkets, as operators and managers, should ensure that the goods or services they provide meet the requirements for protecting personal and property safety. For goods and services that may endanger personal and property safety, they should provide consumers with truthful explanations and clear warnings, and explain and indicate the correct methods of using goods or receiving services, as well as methods to prevent harm from occurring.

In this case, the plaintiff, Ms. Wang, as a consumer, went to the supermarket to buy goods and had the right to protect her personal safety. She had the right to require that the goods and services provided by the defendant supermarket, as an operator, meet the requirements for protecting personal safety. The fresh food area operated by the defendant sells a variety of fish, shrimp and seafood. Customers are at risk of slipping, being stabbed or being infected by various bacteria during the fishing process. It should provide consumers with a dedicated fishing service or professional tools with markings and instructions for correct use. Warnings should also be placed in obvious locations on site to prevent harm to consumers. However, the defendant failed to fulfill the aforementioned obligations, did not provide a dedicated fishing service, did not provide professional fishing tools, and did not remind consumers of the relevant risks, resulting in the plaintiff having to fish by herself, and being stabbed in the palm by a fish in the process, causing the damage in this case.

According to the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the defendant supermarket was at fault for the damage to the plaintiff Ms. Wang and should bear the corresponding compensation liability. As a person with full civil capacity, the plaintiff should be able to foresee the possibility of being injured by fish bones during fishing. In the absence of a special person to fish and professional fishing tools on site, she should actively seek help from supermarket staff. Even if you fish by yourself, you should be vigilant and careful to prevent being injured by fish bones. Therefore, the defendant argued that the plaintiff did not fulfill his duty of care and his liability could be reduced, and the court accepted it. At the same time, it should be noted that damages such as Vibrio vulnificus infection caused by fish bones are not common in life, so the plaintiff's duty of care should not be overly criticized.

Taking into account the facts of this case, the degree of fault of each party and the causal relationship between fault and the damage, the Gulou District People's Court of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province finally decided that the defendant supermarket should bear 70% of the responsibility, or 139,000 yuan, and the plaintiff Ms. Wang should bear the remaining 30% of the responsibility.

Judge: Supermarkets have a duty to ensure safety.

Consumers also have a duty of care

As the operator and manager of the business premises, supermarkets have the obligation to ensure safety. They should fulfill the necessary obligations to prevent damage and fully protect the personal safety of the people. Supermarkets also have the obligation to ensure the use of goods. Supermarkets should ensure that the goods or services they provide meet the requirements for protecting personal safety, make truthful explanations and clear warnings for goods and services that may endanger personal safety, and explain and indicate the correct methods of using goods or receiving services to prevent harm.

As consumers, we have a certain duty of care and should anticipate and be alert to potential dangers and take corresponding preventive measures to avoid consequences that endanger personal safety.

In daily life, seafood products are full of parasites, so you need to be careful when handling them, and it is best to take protective measures. If you are accidentally injured while handling them, you should disinfect them in time and observe the wound carefully. If the situation worsens or you feel other discomfort, you should seek medical attention in time.

Source: Official account @Fuzhou Gulou District People's Court