Brake failure, driver school delivery hit students, how to define the responsibility？ The court ruled!

On the way back to the classroom after class exercises.

The driver injured a student in school because the brakes were out of control.

Who should be responsible for drivers and schools?

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The Ziyang District Court of Yiyang City, Hunan Province heard this case.

Cases involving campus safety

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In February, 2022, when Li delivered the goods to a vocational school in Yiyang by car and returned to the downhill section of the campus, he lost control of the brakes and collided with 17-year-old Song, who was on his way back to the classroom after class exercises, causing Song to be injured. Later, Song was sent to the hospital for treatment, and the medical expenses were 34,176.29 yuan. After identification, Song’s right medial and lateral ankle fracture line involved the epiphysis, which was a grade 10 disability; Multiple fractures of the right foot cause complete destruction of the arch structure of the right foot, which is a grade 9 disability.

Afterwards, Song sued a vocational school, Li and the vehicle insurance company driven by Li to the court, demanding compensation for medical expenses, follow-up treatment fees, hospitalization food subsidies and other losses totaling 296,673 yuan.

After trial, the court held that citizens’ right to life and health was protected by law. If another person infringes upon a citizen’s personal rights due to his fault, he shall bear civil liability for compensation. The vehicle involved in the accident is owned by Li and has been insured with compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance. According to Article 43 of the Regulations on Compulsory Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability Insurance, for Song’s loss, the insurance company shall be liable for compensation within the limit of compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance, and the rest shall be liable for compensation according to the degree of fault of all parties.

In this case, when driving on campus, Li should ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially on downhill roads, and pay attention to avoiding pedestrians. Li injured Song, who was returning to the classroom because of brake failure, and his fault was the root cause of the accident, and he should bear all the responsibility for the accident; A vocational school failed to fulfill the corresponding obligation of prompting and supervising the vehicles coming to the school. During the dissolution of recess exercise, it should try to avoid the traffic of vehicles on campus, thus inferring that a vocational school failed to fulfill its management responsibilities, and according to the provisions of Article 1201 of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), it was determined that the school should bear 30% of the supplementary liability for compensation.

Based on the above situation, the court ruled that the insurance company compensated Song for medical expenses, follow-up treatment expenses, hospital food subsidies, nursing expenses and other losses of 180,000 yuan within 10 days from the effective date of the judgment; Li compensated Song for medical expenses, follow-up treatment expenses, hospital food subsidies, nursing expenses and other losses of 81,536.99 yuan within 10 days from the effective date of this judgment; A vocational school shall bear the supplementary compensation liability within the range of 24,461.09 yuan when Li can’t pay off the above sum. After the school bears the above supplementary compensation liability, it has the right to recover from Li.

01

The accident happened in a closed campus. Is it a road traffic accident?

This case is a dispute over damages caused by an accident when a vehicle passes outside the road. If a motor vehicle is damaged by a traffic accident, it shall be liable for compensation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the road traffic safety law. Article 77 of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that accidents that occur when vehicles pass outside the road shall be handled with reference to the relevant provisions of the Road Traffic Safety Law. Article 25 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Trial of Road Traffic Accident Damage Compensation Cases stipulates that the provisions of this Interpretation may be applied with reference to damage compensation cases caused by motor vehicles passing outside roads. In this case, Song was injured by a motor vehicle in a non-road traffic accident on campus, and his personal injury compensation can be handled in accordance with the above-mentioned legal provisions.

02

Who will bear the responsibility for the traffic accident on the way to delivery?

According to the provisions of Article 1191 of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), if a student suffers personal injury from an off-campus person while he is at school, the infringer shall bear the responsibility. If the staff of the employing unit causes damage to others due to the execution of work tasks, the employing unit shall bear the tort liability. In this case, a maintenance service co., Ltd. contracted the maintenance and cleaning project of the drainage ditch and septic tank in the male and female dormitory of the school. Li, an outsider in this case, is not a worker or employee of the company, but a deliveryman. Because of his fault, he should bear all the responsibilities.

03

Does the school take responsibility for the accident on campus?

According to Article 1201 of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), if a person without or with limited capacity for civil conduct suffers personal injury from a third person outside the kindergarten, school or other educational institution during his study and life, the third person shall bear the tort liability; Kindergartens, schools or other educational institutions that fail to fulfill their management responsibilities shall bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities. Article 9, paragraph 2, of the Measures for Handling Student Injury Accidents stipulates that if the school safety management system has obvious omissions or management confusion and fails to take timely measures to cause student injury, the school shall bear corresponding responsibilities according to law.

At the time of the incident, Song was a person with limited capacity. During the dissolution of the class exercise, when Li was driving on campus, the school did not have managers to stop reminding him. It can be seen that the school’s safety management was negligent and did not do its due management duties, which caused Song’s personal injury accident. If the school is at fault, it should bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities. After the school assumes the supplementary responsibility, it can recover from Li.

In addition, students are injured from time to time due to construction on campus. During construction, the school should not only educate students about safety, but also make necessary control over related work, always reminding them to pay attention to the safety of teachers and students and create a safe campus environment.

Original title: "Brake failure, driver school delivery hits students, how to define the responsibility? The court ruled! 》

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