Drinking at a party is a regulator of daily life, but after drinking, if the drinkers at the same table feel unwell or even die, should the rest of the drinkers be held responsible? Recently, a judgment was pronounced in Beijing on a case in which a co-drinker violated the duty of care and assistance, and thus assumed the corresponding tort liability.
Wang, who lives in Beijing, and Jiang are friends and met because they used to live in the same community. On the evening of April 14, 2023, Wang and Jiang made an appointment to go to the restaurant for dinner, during which the two also drank together. However, when the two were on the way home after eating, Jiang had an accident. "At that time, Jiang was already in a drunken state and couldn't stand or walk independently, so Wang wanted to send him home."
Jiang's residence was within 1 kilometer of the restaurant where he dined that night, and the public area screen showed that Jiang was sitting, lying, lying down, lying down, etc. on the way home. "When he was lying down for the first time, Jiang should still be conscious, and Wang claimed to be looking for a security guard. When he came back, Jiang was in a state of falling to the ground. ”
Unable to help Jiang up, Wang chose to call the police. The police immediately rushed to the scene after receiving the report, and because Jiang was already unconscious, the police immediately asked Wang next to him if the two had been drinking, and asked Wang to provide Jiang's identity information, but Wang's answer surprised the police.
At the scene, the police asked Wang many times about Jiang's identity, and Wang said that he did not know or know. Because Jiang's mobile phone had a password and could not be contacted by his family, the police had to ask Wang again. In the constant dialogue between the police and Wang, Wang unconsciously said Jiang's personal information. Feeling that Jiang's situation was not good, the police first dialed 120, and later contacted Jiang's son. Wang left on his own during the process.
Eventually, Jiang died of ischemic-hypoxic encephalopathy, cardiorespiratory arrest, asphyxia, and alcoholism. Jiang's son believed that his father's death had a certain relationship with the co-drinker Wang, so he tried to communicate with Wang about the matter. "He said that this matter has nothing to do with me, and that your father and I are just ordinary friends. We communicated with him to no avail. My dad lay in the hospital for more than ten days, and he didn't see him, and he didn't say hello. It gives me the impression that he is subjectively trying to escape. ”
Subsequently, Xiao Jiang sued Wang to the court, claiming that Wang should compensate for medical expenses, nursing expenses, funeral expenses and other expenses.
During the trial, the judge held that the deceased Jiang was also a person with full capacity for civil conduct, and knew that he had an underlying disease, so he was primarily responsible for his own death, and that the defendant Wang, as a co-drinker, had a duty of care and assistance to his co-drinker, but after the police arrived at the scene, Wang did not provide Jiang's personal information in a timely manner, causing the police to spend more than 10 minutes to inquire.
In the end, the Beijing Shijingshan District People's Court made a judgment that Wang should bear 5% of the compensation liability for Jiang's reasonable losses, with a total compensation of 92,532 yuan. Unsatisfied, the defendant Wang appealed, and the second-instance judgment was upheld.