Edit | July
Author | Wang Fengyuan Lawyer Of Huaicheng
As we all know, the injury or death caused by traffic accidents shall be compensated by the party responsible for the accident and its car insurance company, and the employer and the work injury insurance company shall pay for the death benefits due to the work injury.
If a traffic accident causes death and the deceased is identified as a worker's death, can the family of the deceased claim double compensation?
1
Double claims are controversial
On December 31, 2004, Zhang Mouli, the wife of Qin Moudong, a cost engineer at Kunlun Company, was involved in a traffic accident on her way back to Urumqi City on a business trip, resulting in Zhang Mouli's death.
After the traffic accident management department determines that the driver should bear full responsibility for the traffic accident. The owner's unit compensated Qin Moudong for a one-time death allowance, funeral allowance, living expenses of the dependents, and compensation for mental damage, totaling 220,615.8 yuan.
Zhang Mouli's unit submitted the "Work Injury Determination Review Form" to the management center. On April 1, 2005, the management center made a work injury determination that Zhang Mouli died due to work. On May 20 of the same year, the Management Center decided not to pay the work-related injury insurance treatment on the grounds that the expenses paid by the parties to the accident were higher than the work-related injury treatment standards stipulated in the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations").
Qin Moudong did not recognize the decision, so he sued the management center of the court for compensation for work injury insurance.
The court of first instance held that because the third-party tort compensation and the work-related injury compensation insurance mechanism are currently parallel in law, one belongs to the category of private rights and the other belongs to the category of public rights, and the two cannot be mixed or replaced by each other, the judgment revokes the management center's decision not to compensate.
The management center appealed against the first-instance judgment.
2
The SPC supports double indemnity
The adjudication committee of the court of second instance formed two opinions on the case:
The first opinion: The Ministry of Labor promulgated on August 12, 1996 in the "Trial Measures for Enterprise Employees' Work Injury Insurance" (hereinafter referred to as the "Trial Measures") has specific provisions on the compensation for work injuries caused by traffic accidents, that is, the issue of compensation for work injuries caused by traffic accidents should first be handled in accordance with traffic laws and regulations.
Second Opinion: Article 28 of the Trial Measures has been abolished with the implementation of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance on January 1, 2004. In accordance with the spirit of article 12 (now revised to article 3) of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Compensation Cases (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation"), after the victim receives civil compensation from the accident party (a third party), he or she may also apply to the work injury insurance institution for compensation for the treatment of work injury insurance in accordance with article 37 of the Regulations.
The Guiding Opinions of the Court of Second Instance are consistent with the Interpretation and embody the spirit of legislation to protect the interests of victims.
The adjudication committee of the court of second instance preferred the second view, but held that since this case involved the validity of local normative documents and considered the effective enforcement of future judgments, it really needed further clarification, so it sought instructions from the SPC.
The SPC replied on December 28, 2006, agreeing in principle with the biased opinion of the Adjudication Committee of the Court of Second Instance. Employees or their close relatives who have been injured as a result of a work-related injury caused by a third party may, after receiving civil compensation from a third party, apply to the work-related injury insurance institution for compensation for work-related injury insurance benefits (i.e., funeral expenses subsidy, pension for supporting relatives, and one-time work-related death benefit, which has been amended to article 39) in accordance with the provisions of article 37 of the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance.
3
Lawyer Huaicheng suggested
In view of the issues related to double compensation for work injuries caused by a third party, combined with the case and practical experience, Mr. Huaicheng provides two suggestions for your reference:
1． Regardless of the cause of the work injury, the work injury should be applied for in time, and if the employer does not apply on its behalf, it should apply for itself within 1 year from the date of the work accident, so as to avoid the failure to pay the work injury treatment due to missing the application period;
2． If a third party causes a work injury, it may claim compensation from the infringer at the same time and require the employer and the work injury insurance fund to pay the work injury treatment.
If there are more problems in the double compensation of the third party caused by the work injury, it is recommended to consult the relevant professional lawyers, our law firm also provides online consulting services for lawyers, welcome you to click the QR code below, anytime, anywhere for legal advice.