news

no fault

the elderly who were hit should not bear legal responsibility

the court accepted the prosecution's protest opinion and sentenced the perpetrator to bear all the disability compensation

"this case is a tort caused by a traffic accident, and the principle of fault liability applies, that is, if the injured party is also at fault for the occurrence of the damage, the tortfeasor's liability can be reduced. however, it should be noted that in general tort liability, the main basis for assuming liability is fault, and there is no legal liability if there is no fault."

"you have figured out things that i couldn't understand and given me justice! after the court changed the verdict, i not only received an additional 40,000 yuan in disability compensation, but i also often educate my old friends about the law and tell them that we don't have to take responsibility if we are not at fault!" lao li said excitedly when ning xiaoying, a prosecutor from the civil prosecution department of the beijing municipal procuratorate, recently made a follow-up visit to an appeal case.

in 2018, mr. li, who was in his sixties, was riding his bicycle normally on the road. when he passed the traffic light intersection, he was hit by a car coming from behind. the traffic control department determined that the motor vehicle driver was fully responsible. after appraisal, mr. li suffered a grade 10 disability. because the spinal cord and nerve roots in his neck were compressed, mr. li spent more than 100,000 yuan in hospital treatment.

talking about the car accident, mr. li was very angry. not only was he physically injured, but the vehicle involved in the accident did not have compulsory traffic insurance. the other party only paid part of the outpatient fee and was unwilling to take any more responsibility.

"since the traffic management department has determined that the perpetrator is fully responsible for the accident, then my losses should be borne by the other party." lao li filed a lawsuit and brought the perpetrator to court.

in december 2020, the court ruled that the perpetrator should bear all of lao li's medical expenses, hospitalization subsidies, lost wages, etc. however, for the disability compensation caused by the car accident, the court ruled that the perpetrator should bear 50% of the compensation. because according to the judicial appraisal report, lao li suffered from "cervical spondylosis, severe osteoarthritis of the cervical canal" and other diseases before the injury, which led to the expansion of the consequences of the damage, beyond the expected range of ordinary people under normal circumstances. the court considered the degree of involvement of the disease in the causal relationship between disability and injury, and decided that the perpetrator should bear 50% of the compensation for disability.

after receiving the verdict, lao li still couldn't understand why he was hit and the traffic control department also determined that the perpetrator was fully responsible, but he still had to bear part of the responsibility? lao li was dissatisfied with the first-instance verdict and appealed. the second-instance verdict did not support his appeal. after that, lao li's application for a retrial was also rejected.

"i admit that i am in poor health, but if it weren't for this car accident, i could have led a normal life and would not have become a level 10 disabled person!" lao li was very puzzled by the court's ruling that he should bear 50% of the responsibility.

"let's go to the procuratorate to apply for supervision, shall we?" lao li's wife suggested to lao li after participating in a legal publicity activity. lao li decided to give it a try and submitted a supervision application to the beijing municipal procuratorate in march 2023.

the prosecutor ning xiaoying immediately reviewed the case files and consulted the beijing judicial appraisal association on relevant professional issues. years of experience in handling cases made ning xiaoying realize that this seemingly "reasonable" civil case was "irrational".

"if mr. li's previous physical condition was 99% of the cause of his disability, he could still lead a normal life as long as no infringement occurred. but if he got into a car accident, does he have to bear 99% of the responsibility?" at the joint meeting of prosecutors, ning xiaoying focused on the causal relationship and fault liability in the case and raised this question.

"this case is a tort caused by a traffic accident and the principle of fault liability applies. that is, if the injured party is also at fault for the occurrence of the damage, the liability of the tortfeasor can be reduced. but it should be noted that in general tort liability, the main basis for assuming liability is fault, and no legal liability is required if there is no fault." ning xiaoying analyzed that the traffic accident responsibility letter has determined that the perpetrator is fully responsible, and lao li himself is not at fault. in addition, the determination of the degree of involvement in the causal relationship of disability in the appraisal report is based on a medical judgment, and the responsibility of the parties should still be determined in accordance with relevant legal provisions.

did the damage exceed the expected scope? "that should also be judged based on the normal and reasonable expectations of ordinary people." ning xiaoying said that the traffic accident in this case occurred between a motor vehicle and a non-motor vehicle. as a motor vehicle driver, the fact that he did not comply with traffic rules may cause a traffic accident or even cause serious damage such as disability to the non-motor vehicle party obviously did not exceed the expectations of ordinary people. even if lao li himself has cervical spondylosis, this factor cannot reduce the high safety duty of motor vehicle drivers or change their expected conclusions.

based on this, the beijing municipal procuratorate believes that the traffic accident was the direct cause of mr. li's disability. although his original illness had a certain impact, it was not his fault and mr. li should not be held responsible for the damage. in november 2023, the procuratorate filed an appeal with the beijing high court on this case.

in may this year, the court adopted the prosecution's protest opinion in a retrial and ruled that lao li was not legally responsible for the damage and that the perpetrator should bear all disability compensation.

(source: procuratorate daily·news edition author: jianjie sunman)