A 6-year-old boy fell into the water by the Dadu River, and his mother saved her son from drowning: the child was rescued, and the family sued multiple parties for a claim of 1.29 million yuan, and the first instance was rejected

Chengdu Business Daily Red Star News

2024-06-19 17:13Posted on the official account of Red Star News of Chengdu Business Daily, Sichuan

▲ The scene of the incident. According to netizens

A year ago, Ms. Li, a tourist from Chongqing, and her family of four went to the Dadu River in Leshan, Sichuan, when their 6-year-old son Xiaoyu (pseudonym) fell into the river, and Ms. Li also fell into the river to save her son. Later, Xiaoyu was rescued by a swimmer, but Ms. Li unfortunately drowned.

After the incident, Ms. Li's family believed that the cause of the accident was that there were no warning signs and safety fences at the premises, and there were no safety officers. In addition, there are a large number of concrete cones hidden in the river on the bank of the river, resulting in the incapacitation of people who have fallen into the water after being impacted. The Leshan Winter Swimming Association, the relevant street offices, and the community are the users and managers of the Winter Swimming Plaza where the incident occurred, and the family sued the court to demand that all parties jointly compensate more than 1.29 million yuan.

Recently, the People's Court of Shizhong District, Leshan City, made a first-instance judgment, holding that the winter swimming square is the common name of the local residents, the place where the accident occurred is part of the natural river, and the defendant Leshan Winter Swimming Association, the relevant street office and the community should not be liable for the death of Li (i.e., Ms. Li), and rejected the plaintiff's claim.

Incident:

A 6-year-old boy fell into the water, and his mother saved her son from drowning

The child was rescued by a swimmer

Back on August 20, 2023, at about 13 o'clock on the same day, Ms. Li, a tourist from Chongqing, and her husband Mr. Sun took their two sons, Xiaoyu and Xiaochen, to Xiao Gongzui Winter Swimming Square on the other side of the Leshan Giant Buddha. In the meantime, Mr. Sun had to call and leave, leaving Ms. Li alone with her two sons to play by the river.

Unexpectedly, the 6-year-old eldest son Xiaoyu accidentally fell into the river, and in a hurry, Ms. Li squatted down to pull her son, but fell into the river together. According to public media reports, at that time, some witnesses quickly shouted "Help, someone fell into the water", but "after this mother went into the water, she disappeared in two seconds", and there happened to be swimmers in the nearby waters at that time, and Xiaoyu was finally rescued ashore.

At this time, Mr. Sun, who had just finished making a phone call, heard someone shouting "help", and hurriedly walked to the river, and found that his eldest son Xiaoyu had been rescued from the river by a swimmer, but he did not see his wife, Ms. Li. Five days later, Ms. Li's body was found at the gate of the avionics hub forty or fifty kilometers downstream of the Min River.

▲ Winter swimmers rescue the little boy. According to netizens

Dependents:

There are no warning signs and safety fences at the place of the incident

Claim 1.29 million from the Winter Swimming Association, the street office and the community

After the incident, Ms. Li's parents, her husband and son jointly filed a civil lawsuit against the tort liability dispute, taking the Leshan Winter Swimming Association, the Haitang Street Office of Shizhong District, Leshan City, the Jiaochangba Street Community and the Dafo Street Office as defendants, demanding compensation of more than 1.29 million yuan for the living expenses of the dependents, death compensation, funeral expenses, and mental damages.

The family believes that Xiao Gongzui Winter Swimming Square is a 100-meter-long unclosed lot agreed to be reserved by the local government of Leshan City, and a 100-square-meter site has been set aside for the management and use of the defendant Leshan Winter Swimming Association. The Haitang Sub-district Office is responsible for the management and maintenance of the river involved in the case. The community of Jiaochangba Street is the specific maintenance unit.

The family believes that the cause of the accident is that there are no warning signs and safety fences in the place, and there are no safety officers. In addition, because there are a large number of concrete cones hidden in the river on the bank of the river, the people who fell into the water were incapacitated after being impacted, resulting in many people falling into the water and dying during the summer vacation at the same location. As the specific regional responsible unit of Leshan Tourism City, the defendant failed to implement matters such as safeguarding the personal safety of tourists, which damaged its image as a tourist city.

During the trial, the plaintiff (family member) stated in court that the Winter Swimming Square was a public place, and the Leshan Winter Swimming Association was the actual manager and user of the venue. The Haitang Sub-district Office, the Jiaochangba Street Community and the Tai Fo Sub-district Office are also the managers of the venue. The Leshan Winter Swimming Association failed to fulfill its obligation to provide safety reminders, nor did it set up safety measures or eliminate safety risks, resulting in the accident in this case, so it should bear full liability for compensation. Haitang Street Office, Jiaochangba Street Community, and Dafo Street Office have failed to fulfill their management obligations, and shall be jointly liable for compensation with the Leshan Winter Swimming Association.

▲Winter Swimming Square

Defendant:

The area of the incident is a natural river channel

Adults should be the first person responsible for their own safety

In this regard, the Leshan Winter Swimming Association argued that there are no documents and materials to prove that the winter swimming square has been assigned by the government to manage the association, and the winter swimming square has been repaired by many winter swimming enthusiasts for more than ten years with "strong efforts and money". Not only does the association have no management rights, but it also has no control over the right to use it. The association does not charge any fees at the Winter Swimming Plaza, nor does it provide tourist attraction services, all actions are spontaneous acts of natural persons, and they should be held responsible for what happens.

The Haitang Sub-district Office and the community of Jiaochangba Street argued that the accident occurred within the river area, and it was not the management unit of the river involved in the case, and had performed the duty of warning and inspection at the mouth of the river. As a person with full capacity for civil conduct, the cause of death of the deceased was his own negligence.

The Dafo Sub-district Office argued that although the river involved in the case was located within its jurisdiction, it was a natural river and not an artificially excavated river. Although the Winter Swimming Plaza is a reinforcement of the riverbank involved in the case, it does not change the nature of its natural course. For natural waterways, the current laws and regulations do not stipulate the establishment of safety protection measures and safety warning signs and other safety protection measures.

At the same time, the Dafo Sub-district Office believes that adults should be the first person responsible for their own safety, and should not entrust their safety to the constant reminders of relevant state agencies, and this case should not be guided by the principle of emotional or consequential responsibility, and hand over the losses to the defendant who does not constitute infringement, so it requests that all the plaintiff's claims be dismissed.

Verdict:

The plaintiff's claim was rejected in the first instance

The parties shall not be liable for damages

After on-site investigation, the place where the incident occurred is commonly known as Dongyong Square, and the only entrance to the place is the staircase of Xiao Gongzui's estuary, which is directly connected to the Dadu River below the staircase steps. The staircase is equipped with a safety warning sign: "For the safety of you and your family, cherish life, and be cautious when entering the river". At the time of the inspection, a protective fence was set up on the side of the exposed river.

▲The entrance of the Winter Swimming Plaza

After trial by the People's Court of Shizhong District of Leshan City, it was determined that the place where the incident occurred was part of a natural river and was not a place to provide services to the public or conduct commercial operations with the public as the object. For the management of natural rivers, the current laws and regulations do not stipulate the establishment of safety protection facilities and safety warning signs and other safety measures. Although the Dafo Sub-district Office was the manager of the river section involved in the case, it was not at fault for the consequences of Li's death and did not need to bear civil tort liability.

The court held that the mere fact that the plaintiff provided photographs and its statements was not sufficient to prove that the Leshan Winter Swimming Association, as a social group legal person, was the actual manager and user of the area. Secondly, combined with the foregoing determination, the place where the accident occurred in this case is part of a natural river channel, and it is not a place to provide services to the public or conduct commercial operations for the public, and the Leshan Winter Swimming Association should not be liable for Li's death.

Combined with the foregoing determination, the Haitang Sub-district Office and the Jiaochangba Street Community were not the managers of the river section involved in the case, and safety warning signs were set up at the mouth of the river all year round, so they should not be liable for the death of Li. Recently, the Leshan Shizhong District Court made a first-instance judgment rejecting the plaintiff's claim.

On the afternoon of June 19, the relevant person in charge of the Leshan Winter Swimming Association said that he did not expect that the swimming enthusiast would save people, and the Winter Swimming Association would become a defendant; The place where the incident occurred is a natural river, and you should be responsible for what happened; Satisfaction with the verdict.

It is understood that since 2006, members of the Leshan Winter Swimming Association have rescued more than 200 people who fell into the water in the waters of the Dadu River, Tsing Yi River and Minjiang River in Leshan. The above-mentioned person in charge said that although the association became the defendant this time, everyone would not hesitate to save people in case of danger in the future.

As of the afternoon of June 19, the Red Star News reporter was unable to contact the plaintiff. At present, the court has not yet taken effect on the judgment of the first instance, and if the plaintiff is not satisfied with the judgment, he can file an appeal within 15 days from the date of service of the judgment.

Red Star News reporter Gu Aigang photo report

Editor: Pan Li, Editor-in-charge: Li Binbin

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