In August 2022, in a community in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, an elderly man in his eighties walked through the basketball court and collided with a middle school student playing basketball and sued the middle school student. Not long ago, the Wanzhou District People's Court of Chongqing Municipality announced the verdict of this case.
An octogenarian was hit across the court
Sued a junior high school student who played ball
The 83-year-old plaintiff, Ms. Mou, was knocked down in the basketball court, why did she suddenly appear in a basketball game, and how was she injured? The time goes back to the summer of 2022.
At around 6:00 p.m. on August 2, 2022, a basketball game was in full swing on the basketball court in a community in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, and the 15-year-old defendant Xiao Qu was one of the team members participating in the competition. However, in the fierce competition, no one noticed that an elderly figure entered the basketball court.
Middle school students are engrossed in the game
Knock down the old man while running backwards
Video from the public place shows that at first the old man appeared around the basketball court and said a few words to the people around her, and then she suddenly went straight across the basketball court and wanted to walk to the other side. However, Xiao Qu, who was engrossed in the game at this time, didn't notice anyone entering the court at all, he ran backwards and received the ball with his back, and before he could turn around, he suddenly knocked down the old man who was crossing the court.
Because Xiao Qu was in the process of running at the same time as hitting the old man, so under the strong impact, the old man fell to the ground on the spot, and the game was immediately interrupted, Xiao Qu quickly contacted his parents, and at the same time dialed the 120 emergency number, and the ambulance pulled the old man to a nearby hospital for treatment. After hospital diagnosis, the old man had a fracture of the right femoral intertrochanteric and needed to be hospitalized. Defendant Xiao Qu's family first paid a 3,000 yuan deposit for hospitalization, and then notified the old man's children.
Xiang Ping, an agent ad litem entrusted by the plaintiff: Through judicial appraisal, the disability level was 9. The medical expenses seemed to be more than 30,000 yuan, and the defendant only paid 3,000 yuan. After that, he never came to the hospital to see the injured elderly person again.
Geriatric Residence Physician
The family demanded reimbursement for the medical expenses of the secondary school student
The old man and her children believed that the old man was injured by Xiao Qu, and the medical expenses of more than 30,000 yuan should be borne by Xiao Qu's guardian, but this request was rejected by Xiao Qu's parents.
Defendant Xiaoqu's mother: Her medical expenses and nursing expenses were a bit too high, and we didn't agree to them at that time. Because she also has a responsibility.
It is believed that the property company is negligent in management
The family of the elderly person filed a claim
Later, the family members of the elderly also approached the property management company of the community for theorizing, they believed that the property management company was negligent in managing the use of the basketball court and should also be responsible for the personal injury of the elderly.
Both Xiao Qu and the property management company felt that they had done nothing wrong, so they did not accept the other party's claim for compensation.
So, why did the old man suddenly break into the court of a basketball game? It turned out that the old man and Xiao Qu were residents of the same community, and the old man usually picked up some waste products for recycling and sale when he walked in the community. At the time of the incident, the old man found a mineral water bottle at the other end of the basketball court and was injured while taking a shortcut across the basketball court.
The old man sued the middle school student and the property
On April 23, 2023, with the support of his children, the elderly hired a lawyer and sued Xiaoqu and the property management company as co-defendants, demanding joint compensation of more than 120,000 yuan for the elderly's medical expenses, nursing expenses, spiritual solace and other expenses.
Xiang Ping, the plaintiff's agent ad litem: The difference in medical expenses is quite large, and finally the public security organ mediated once, but the two parties could not reach an agreement on the compensation of medical expenses, so the plaintiff filed a lawsuit with the court.
The right to health dispute case was heard
How are the parties liable?
The elderly man was injured when he crossed the basketball court, and the students who played the ball and the property of the community became defendants. So how should the court determine the liability of all parties in this right to health dispute?
On May 17, 2023, the Wanzhou District Court of Chongqing Municipality heard the right to health dispute.
The plaintiff argued that the secondary school students were negligent and negligent
The plaintiff argued that the basketball game in which Xiao Qu participated was a sports activity organized by him and his classmates for the purpose of exercising, which was very different from the official professional basketball game, and that the basketball court in the community was not completely closed. As a participant, Xiao Qu should have foreseen that during the basketball game, there may be non-players passing through the court.
The defendant Xiao Qu argued that the plaintiff entered the basketball court for a very short time, only four or five seconds, and in this case, the defendant Xiao Qu could not have foreseen the plaintiff's behavior of crossing the court to pick up bottles, and the defendant Xiao Qu should not be required to fulfill the duty of observation and care for the unforeseen behavior.
The plaintiff argued that the property had failed to meet its security obligations
As for the property management company, the other defendant in this case, the plaintiff submitted that the basketball court is a sports facility in the community and is managed by the property management company. As a manager, the property management company should regularly maintain the basketball court for the safety of others, remind or prevent irrelevant personnel from entering the court, and ensure the personal safety of others.
The net was broken and the elderly were injured
Whether there is a direct causal relationship
In this regard, the property management company stated that although the protective net around the basketball court in the community was damaged, there was no direct causal relationship between the damage of the protective net and the plaintiff's injury, and the property management company did not bear tort liability to the plaintiff.
In addition, the two defendants also jointly submitted an opinion that the plaintiff was injured because she herself walked through the basketball court where the game was being played in order to pick up the mineral water bottle, regardless of the danger, and therefore the plaintiff should bear full responsibility.
To get to the bottom of the facts
The judge retrieved the video of the incident for analysis
The defense both argued that they should not be held responsible. For the judge hearing this case, the key to determining the facts is whether the two defendants are at fault. If so, it should be held accountable; In order to ascertain the facts, the judge retrieved the video of the public place at the scene of the incident for careful analysis.
According to the judge, judging whether the defendant Xiaoqu was at fault mainly depends on two points: one is to see whether the venue he chose to play is legitimate, and the other is to see whether he has subjectively impacted him.
The students kept running with their backs to the old man
Knock the old man down with his back
According to the video of the public place of the basketball court, it can be seen that Xiao Qu was concentrating on playing in the court at the time of the incident, and when the plaintiff crossed the court, Xiao Qu kept his back to the plaintiff and knocked the plaintiff down with his back in the process of catching the ball with his back and running. During the whole process, Xiao Qu never turned around and did not observe the plaintiff's movement across the court.
The Civil Code stipulates that the operators and managers of hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, airports, stadiums, entertainment venues and other business venues and public places, or the organizers of mass activities, shall bear tort liability if they fail to fulfill their safety and security obligations and cause injury to others.
In response to the plaintiff's claim that the defendant property management company failed to fulfill its management responsibilities, the judge also reached a conclusion through investigation.
Li Yafei, Vice President of the First Civil Division of the Wanzhou District Court of Chongqing Municipality: Because this old man entered the center of the basketball court, she was hit by Qu Mou, who was playing ball, instead of through the damage to the facilities and equipment in the basketball court, causing her to fall. This kind of basketball court does have a damaged net around the perimeter, but she didn't get in through the damaged net around the perimeter, she entered through the gate. Therefore, we believe that the property management company has fulfilled its management responsibilities and should not bear tort liability in this case.
See adversarial matches
The potential risks of entering the stadium should be anticipated
In addition, the judge said that the plaintiff, as a person with full capacity for civil conduct and living in this community for a long time, knew that the basketball court was obviously different from ordinary roads, and that the basketball on the court was fiercely confrontational, and could foresee the possible risk of injury when crossing the court, but still chose to cross the court, which was the main cause of the collision.
The Civil Code stipulates that natural persons enjoy the right to health, and no organization or individual may infringe upon the right to health of others, and if the perpetrator infringes on the right to health of others due to fault and causes damage to others, he shall bear tort liability, and if the victim himself is at fault, the liability of the tortfeasor shall be appropriately reduced.
Reasonable space to focus on sports
The duty of observation cannot be demanded
After investigation, the court held that the defendant Xiaoqu should not have set an excessively high duty of care for his normal sports actions by participating in basketball at a reasonable time and in a special venue, and that he was not at fault for injuring the plaintiff. On the contrary, the plaintiff's act of crossing the basketball court should be regarded as a voluntary risk, and the resulting damage should be borne by the plaintiff.
It was found that neither defendant was held liable
The original verdict was upheld in the second instance
On May 25, 2023, the Wanzhou District Court of Chongqing Municipality made a first-instance judgment in this case, and the plaintiff's request that the defendant Xiaoqu and the defendant property management company jointly bear the liability for compensation has no factual and legal basis, and the court rejected the plaintiff's claim in accordance with the law.
On September 15, 2023, the Chongqing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
The verdict is followed
"Fault is consistent with responsibility"
Civil Principles
The judgment of this civil case follows the civil legal principle of "fault and responsibility are consistent", protects the reasonable boundaries of legitimate physical exercise, and embodies the concept of "the law is not strong and difficult for people" in mainland judicial trials. What is the principle of the consistency of fault and responsibility?
Playing basketball is fiercely contested
The old man is willing to take risks when he breaks into the court
Experts said that although the victim in this case was not an athlete, he knew that basketball was fierce, and there was a possibility of collision and injury, but he crossed the court during the game, which was a knowingly committed a crime and put himself in a potential risk, which should be a voluntary risk.
However, experts also pointed out that the fact that the victim was injured at his own risk does not mean that all tortfeasors can be exempt from liability. If the infringer is intentional or grossly negligent, he still has to bear the corresponding legal responsibility.
Protect the proper scope of lawful conduct
Insist on not involving the innocent
Experts said that people who participate in more intense competitive sports activities such as basketball at a reasonable time and in a special venue should not set an excessively high duty of care for their normal sports actions. A society governed by the rule of law should protect lawful acts and insist on not involving the innocent.
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Source: CCTV news client