Property compensation of 240000 yuan, first instance trial! The boy who caused the accident compensated 580000 yuan, and threw wooden blocks on the 32nd floor to kill the old man

The first instance verdict of the widely publicized case of Qu County where a wooden block fell from the sky and killed an elderly person has finally been released: both the boy causing the accident and the property management have been sentenced to bear responsibility for compensation!

On September 16th, the family of the deceased Xiao told Red Star News that they had received the civil judgment from the Qu County People's Court. The Red Star News reporter saw from the judgment that the court ruled that the party responsible should bear the main fault responsibility, with 70% of the responsibility and compensation of over 580000 yuan; The property management bears secondary responsibility, with a 30% compensation of over 240000 yuan.

At present, the two defendants are dissatisfied and have filed an appeal.

▲ First instance judgment

On February 28th this year, in a community in Qu County, Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, an elderly person named Xiao picked up his grandson from school and returned home. As soon as the grandfather and grandson arrived at the third floor of the community, Xiao was hit by a falling wooden block and died despite rescue efforts. According to police investigation, the wooden block was thrown from the top floor by an 8-year-old boy. Afterwards, after multiple unsuccessful negotiations between the community and street office, the family of the deceased sued the property management company, the boy involved in the accident, and his parents to the Qu County People's Court.

On April 24th, the Qu County People's Court held a hearing to hear this case. In the trial, the property management insisted on no responsibility and provided evidence that they had conducted safety inspections and high-altitude throwing warning propaganda; The boy who caused the accident claimed that there was no surveillance footage on the rooftop and no direct evidence to prove that the wooden block that killed the old man was the responsibility of the boy who caused the accident. The plaintiff believes that inadequate property management should be held responsible. The boy who caused the accident identified the location where the wooden blocks were thrown on the rooftop and recounted the process of throwing the blocks. The court did not announce the verdict in court.

——Restore the site——

A 2-meter-long wooden block was thrown down from the 32nd floor

Passing by downstairs, an elderly person was hit and died after unsuccessful rescue efforts

On September 16th, Red Star News received a civil judgment from Qu County People's Court, Chuan 1725 Min Chu 1991, sent by Xiao, the son of the deceased Xiao.

▲ Pictures provided by interviewees at the scene of the incident

The verdict records the entire process of Xiao being hit and killed by a wooden block thrown from the 32nd floor while picking up his grandson from school:

On February 28, 2023, at around 17:00, the defendant Yang Moulin returned home from school and passed by Building 3, which was involved in the case of "Science and Technology South City Impression". At 17:12:21, he took the passenger elevator of the building and went upstairs. At 17:14:40, when the elevator reached the 32nd floor, Yang Moulin got out of the elevator and went straight to the stairwell to play on the roof of Building 3. During play, Yang Moulin pushed a wooden block with a nail down from the roof of the building. After the block fell, it hit a pedestrian named Xiao who passed by. At 17:17:36, Yang took the goods elevator from the 30th floor to the first floor. After going downstairs, Yang saw many people watching, while Xiao lay on the ground. He then returned to his home in Building 6 of the community. Xiao was sent to the Emergency Department of Qu County People's Hospital for emergency treatment at 17:34 on the same day. He died at 18:05 due to sudden respiratory and cardiac arrest.

After the incident, the Qu County Public Security Bureau received a report at 17:40 on the same day and conducted an on-site inspection at around 18:20 on the scene. A wooden block was extracted from the scene, which was 212cm long, 7.5cm wide, and 2.5cm thick. The wooden block has been fixed, extracted, and sent for inspection. Based on the case and on-site situation, an investigation was conducted on the roof of Building 3. Building 3 has a total of 32 floors and can be reached by walking through the 32 story stairs to the top floor. A large number of clothes drying ropes can be seen on the roof. Take photos and fix the roof. On the outer side of the north roof, there is a pedestrian staircase at Gate 2. The wall on the north roof is 1.28m high and 0.49m wide. After investigation, it was found that a depression was found on the kitchen canopy on the 29th floor of Building 3, and it was fixed.

▲ The wooden block that caused the death of the elderly provided by the interviewee

On March 1, 2023, from around 10:20 to 10:56, investigators from the Qu County Public Security Bureau had a verbal conversation with Yang Moulin at his school. At 11:50 on the same day, Yang Moulin, accompanied by his teacher and investigators from the Qu County Public Security Bureau, went to Building 3 of the "Kehua South City Impression" at the crime scene for on-site identification. Yang Moulin gave an on-site demonstration and explanation of the route he took into the residential area, the elevator he took, the location where he found wooden blocks on the top floor, and the location where he threw objects. At 13:01 on March 1, 2023, the Qu County Public Security Bureau questioned Yang Moulin. On March 5, 2023, the Qu County Public Security Bureau issued a notice of refusal to file a case. On March 8, 2023, the Qu County Public Security Bureau conducted an autopsy on the deceased Xiao. On March 23, 2023, the Qu County Public Security Bureau issued an appraisal opinion that the cause of death of the deceased Xiao was a blunt external force induced comminuted sternal fracture, multiple rib fractures, and superior vena cava rupture complicated by hemorrhagic shock.

——Court judgment——

The party responsible for the accident bears 70% of the responsibility, while the property management bears 30% of the responsibility

Both defendants are dissatisfied and have filed an appeal

In this case, the identification of the subject of civil compensation liability and the division of compensation liability have become the focus.

The first instance verdict shows that the defendant Yang Moulin left his guardianship on his way home from school and went alone to the top of Building 3, a 32 story "Science and Technology South City Impression" building. While playing, he pushed down a wooden block from the top of the building and hit pedestrian Xiao Moumou. The defendant Yang Moulin's statement at the public security organs, synchronous audio and video recordings of the Qu County Public Security Bureau questioning Yang Moulin, Yang Moulin's identification video of the crime scene accompanied by a teacher, Yang Moulin's surveillance video of getting on and off the elevator at the crime scene, witness testimony, on-site investigation records, photos, and other evidence confirmed that the evidence could corroborate each other, which is sufficient to prove the defendant Yang Moulin's identity at the crime scene. Lin pushed the wooden block down from the roof of the building involved in the case, which was the direct cause of Xiao's death and should bear the main fault responsibility. Due to the defendant Yang Moulin being a person with limited capacity for civil conduct who is over 8 years old, at the time of the accident in this case, the defendants Yang and Zhang, as legal guardians of Yang Moulin, failed to fulfill their guardianship duties. The corresponding civil liability for damages caused by the defendant Yang Moulin to others should be borne by their guardians, namely Yang and Zhang Mouqiu, in accordance with the law.

▲ Respondents from the incident community provided pictures

The defendant's property management, as a property service enterprise involved in the case, has the obligation to manage and ensure the safety of the property service area of the community building. Although there are words such as "strictly prohibited climbing" on the top fence, the wooden blocks with nails on the roof of the case were not discovered and cleaned up in a timely manner, resulting in safety hazards and the consequences of this case. Therefore, the property management has not fully fulfilled its safety management responsibilities and has certain faults, and should bear secondary responsibility for this case.

Based on the facts and evidence found, the court has determined in accordance with the law that defendants Yang and Zhang Qiu bear 70% of the responsibility for this accident, and the defendant property company bears 30% of the responsibility for this accident.

After trial by the court, it was determined that the plaintiff's lawsuit for compensation includes death compensation, funeral expenses, and other expenses totaling more than 830000 yuan. This cost shall be borne in accordance with the aforementioned liability ratio, and the defendants Yang and Zhang should bear more than 580000 yuan; The defendant's property management company should bear more than 240000 yuan.

On September 16th, the son of the deceased, Xiao, told Red Star News that he had recently received appeals from the property management and the perpetrator of the incident. Both defendants were dissatisfied with the first instance judgment and had appealed to the Dazhou Intermediate People's Court.