Can special vehicle operation accidents be included in the scope of compulsory compensation for motor vehicle traffic accident liability?

Preface

The case pushed in this issue is a typical case of financial trial released at the financial judicial forum: Kunshan Liji Road Rescue Service Co., Ltd. v. Chinese People's Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Suzhou Branch Insurer Subrogation Dispute, Suzhou Intermediate People's Court of Jiangsu Province changed the judgment of the second instance to make it clear: although the operation site of special vehicles does not belong to the category of "road" and "driving" in the usual sense In order to meet the legislative purpose of compulsory traffic insurance, special vehicle operation accidents should still be equated with traffic accidents, and the property losses caused by the insured vehicles in the course of special operations other than the vehicle personnel and the insured should be included in the scope of compensation for compulsory traffic insurance.

Kunshan Liji Roadside Assistance Service Co., Ltd. v. Chinese People's Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Suzhou Branch Insurer Subrogation Dispute

——Can special vehicle operation accidents be included in the scope of compulsory compensation for motor vehicle traffic accident liability?

Case index

First instance: Gusu District People's Court of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province (2021) Su 0508 Min Chu No. 4623

Second instance: Suzhou Intermediate People's Court of Jiangsu Province (2021) Su 05 Min Zhong No. 9492

Summary of the trial

The determination of the scope of compensation for compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance (hereinafter referred to as compulsory traffic insurance) should not be confined to the understanding of "traffic accident" in the usual sense, and should mainly examine the legislative purpose of the compulsory traffic insurance system. When a special vehicle causes property damage to a third party in the course of special operations, the purpose of the compulsory traffic insurance legislation is to ensure that the accident victim can receive economic compensation from the insurance company in a timely manner. Therefore, although the workplace of special vehicles does not belong to the category of "road" and "driving" in the usual sense, in order to meet the legislative purpose of compulsory traffic insurance, special vehicle operation accidents should still be equated with traffic accidents, and the property losses caused by the insured vehicles in the process of special operations to the victims other than the vehicle personnel and the insured should be included in the scope of compulsory traffic insurance compensation. The property of the person on the vehicle or the insured during the operation of a special vehicle shall not change the attributes of the third party due to the physical connection with the special vehicle, and shall not be excluded from the scope of compensation of the third party.

Basic facts of the case

Suzhou Kaiwei Engineering Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Engineering Equipment Company), an outsider, insured motor vehicle damage insurance for all its dump trucks at Taicang Central Branch under the Suzhou Branch of Chinese People's Property and Casualty Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "PICC Suzhou Branch"), and the insurance period was from 16:00 on March 18, 2019 to 24:00 on March 18, 2020. Kunshan Liji Roadside Assistance Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Liji Company") has insured third-party liability insurance, including compulsory traffic insurance and comprehensive commercial insurance for special vehicles, for all its wreckers at PICC Suzhou Branch, and the insurance period is from 12 o'clock on June 27, 2019 to 24 o'clock on June 27, 2020. Article 4 of the "General Provisions" of the Comprehensive Commercial Insurance for Special Vehicles stipulates: "The persons on board the vehicle in this insurance contract refer to the persons in or on the body of the insured motor vehicle at the moment of the accident, including the persons who are getting on and off the vehicle." Article 22 stipulates: "During the insurance period, if an accident occurs during the use of the insured motor vehicle by the insured or its permitted driver or operator, resulting in personal injury or death or direct damage to property of a third party, the liability for damages to the third party shall be borne by the third party in accordance with the law, and it does not fall within the scope of exemption from the liability of the insurer, and the insurer shall be liable for compensation for the part exceeding the compensation limit of each sub-item of the compulsory insurance for motor vehicle traffic accident liability in accordance with the provisions of this insurance contract." In this article, the statement of PICC Suzhou Branch should be understood as "driving on the road or using the insured motor vehicle for work".

At around 4 o'clock on December 12, 2019, Wu Moucheng, an outsider to the case, drove a dump truck under the name of an engineering equipment company while driving in the construction site and had a rollover accident (the vehicle fell into a foundation pit with a depth of about 10 meters). At about 23 o'clock in the evening of the same day, Liji Company assigned the company's driver Yao Moujun to drive the wrecker to the rescue, when the wrecker was towing the dump truck, the dump truck was lifted and fell into the foundation pit with a depth of about 10 meters again, causing the second damage to the dump truck. After the two accidents, the engineering equipment company reported the accident to the insurance company in a timely manner. On December 13, 2019, the four-party agreement of the People's Mediation Committee confirmed that Yao Wenjun was fully responsible for the second accident.

After the above-mentioned accident, the Taicang Municipal People's Court made the (2020) Su 0585 Min Chu No. 5251 Civil Judgment, ordering the Taicang Central Branch of the Suzhou Branch of the People's Insurance Company to pay 242,800 yuan in compensation for the vehicle of Engineering Equipment Co., Ltd. After the judgment came into effect, PICC Suzhou Branch has paid the above-mentioned performance amount.

PICC Suzhou Branch filed a lawsuit with the Gusu District People's Court of Suzhou City, requesting that Liji Company pay it 242,800 yuan in vehicle compensation. On June 29, 2021, the Gusu District People's Court of Suzhou City rendered the (2021) Su 0508 Min Chu No. 4623 Civil Judgment: Liji Company compensated PICC Suzhou Branch 81,725 yuan. After the first-instance judgment was pronounced, Liji Company appealed, requesting that it was not required to pay 81,725 yuan to PICC Suzhou Branch.

In addition, the court of second instance organized the Suzhou Branch of the People's Insurance Company and Liji Company to investigate the process of the wrecker unloading vehicle at the scene of the automobile repair shop: there are two forks on the rear "T" shaped towing telescopic arm of the wrecker, and the forks fork the front axle of the chassis of the rear "Jiefang" brand truck (18 tons), and the wrecker lifts the two front wheels of the truck through the hydraulic cylinder of the car, and the wrecker driver drags the truck away after driving. During this process, the rear wheels of the truck are still in contact with the ground.

Court rulings

On June 29, 2021, the Gusu District People's Court of Suzhou City rendered the (2021) Su 0508 Min Chu No. 4623 Civil Judgment: Liji Company compensated PICC Suzhou Branch 81,725 yuan.

After the judgment was pronounced in the first instance, PICC Suzhou Branch appealed.

On November 25, 2021, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court rendered the (2021) Su 05 Min Zhong No. 9492 Civil Judgment: (1) to revoke the (2021) Su 0508 Min Chu No. 4623 Civil Judgment of the Suzhou Gusu District People's Court;

The effective judgment of the court held that: (1) whether the loss of the dump truck caused by the wrecker in the process of special operation belongs to the scope of compensation of compulsory traffic insurance: the dispute between the opinions of the two parties is whether the special vehicle operation accident is a traffic accident included in the scope of compensation of compulsory traffic insurance. Liji Company believes that according to the expression of "trailer" in the registration form of the people's mediation oral agreement, the wrecker is a vehicle that causes damage to other people's vehicles in the state of traffic, and the significance of insuring compulsory traffic insurance is also to protect the traffic accident that occurs during the operation of the rescue vehicle, so it should be borne by the Suzhou Branch of PICC. PICC Suzhou Branch believes that the accident occurred during the hoisting process, not in a passable state, and should not be included in the insurance liability scope of compulsory traffic insurance. The court held that, in accordance with the legislative purpose of compulsory traffic insurance and the spirit of the reply of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to the People's Court of Jiuli District, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province on December 5, 2008, on the application of the Regulations on Compulsory Traffic Insurance, it was determined that the property loss caused by the insured vehicle in the course of special operations to the victim other than the vehicle personnel and the insured was within the scope of compulsory traffic insurance compensation. From the perspective of the legislative intent of compulsory traffic insurance, compulsory traffic insurance uses this mandatory liability insurance to ensure that the victim of a motor vehicle accident can receive financial compensation from the insurance company in a timely manner. If the personal injury or property damage caused by the special vehicle during operation is excluded from the scope of compensation of compulsory traffic insurance, the probability of the victim of such a vehicle obtaining relief from compulsory traffic insurance will be greatly reduced, which is not in line with the legislative purpose of compulsory traffic insurance. In addition, the CIRC's reply clarified that the Regulations on Compulsory Insurance of Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability shall apply to accidents caused by special vehicles during special operations. In this case, the wrecker is a special vehicle used for carrying out the lifting operation, and the dump truck was damaged during the operation, which is an accident caused by the construction of the special engineering construction vehicle in the factory area. Therefore, the insurance company should bear the loss of 2,000 yuan for the dump truck vehicle within the scope of liability of the compulsory traffic insurance.

(2) On whether it is within the scope of compensation for commercial third-party insurance: The dispute between the two parties in the discussion of opinions and defenses lies in the determination of the "third party" of commercial third-party insurance. Liji Company believes that the people on the vehicle and the insured belong to the third party, and the dump truck does not belong to the first two, so the three insurances should be applied, and the goods carried on the vehicle must not come into contact with the ground. However, the dump truck only uses the towing method to move the faulty vehicle to a certain place, so it does not belong to the goods on the vehicle of Liji Company, and the cargo insurance on the vehicle is not applicable. PICC Suzhou Branch believes that dump trucks belong to the goods on the vehicle, not to a third party, and the liability insurance for the goods on the vehicle is applicable. The court held that the "third party" stipulated in the insurance coverage of the special vehicle third-party liability insurance of both parties refers to "a person who suffers personal injury or death or property damage due to an accident of the insured motor vehicle, but does not include the persons on board the insured motor vehicle and the insured." "Occupant Person" means: "A person who is in or on the body of an insured motor vehicle at the moment of an accident, including a person who is getting on or off the vehicle." "In this case, during the trial of the second instance, the court organized both parties to go to the Xinjiashi Automobile Repair Factory in Kunshan City, Suzhou City to investigate the process of the rescue vehicle being lifted off the vehicle, and the rear wheels of the truck were still in contact with the ground during the process, so the dump truck was not the person on board the insured motor vehicle, nor was it the property of the insured, and should be recognized as a third party. Therefore, the loss caused by the accident during the use of the wrecker of the insured vehicle belongs to the compensation scope of the insurance company's three-party insurance. Therefore, the insurance company should bear the loss of 231,500 yuan (233,500 yuan-2,000 yuan) of the dump truck within the scope of the third-party liability insurance of the special vehicle.

Case discussion: Do you think that special vehicle operation accidents can be included in the scope of compulsory compensation for motor vehicle traffic accident liability? Welcome to leave a comment and share your views and opinions.

Source: Typical Cases of Infringement Compensation

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