Who is responsible if someone gets injured while playing escape room?

Escape rooms, a new immersive experience game, have attracted many young people in recent years. However, in the process of thrilling, exciting and terrifying games, if an accident occurs to a consumer, who will bear the responsibility?

During the competition, I claimed more than 270,000 yuan from the merchant because of my fall.

This is a promotional video for the escape room game. In the dark environment, tense music continues to play, coupled with words such as solving puzzles and escaping, making players immersed in it, but sometimes they ignore the hidden risks.

In a civil case heard by the People’s Court of Chaoyang District, Beijing, in February 2023, the two parties in court were a businessman and a consumer in Beijing who operated an escape room game.

Qiu Jian, the plaintiff’s attorney, requested the court to order the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for medical expenses, nursing expenses, lost wages, and disability compensation totaling 274,537 yuan.

Why would both parties sue for an escape room game in court? What game is this?

At the beginning of 2021, Ms. Pang, who lives in Beijing, and her friends came to the secret room run by the defendant to participate in a themed secret room escape game. However, during the game, an accident happened. The litigation attorney of the plaintiff Ms. Pang stated the entire process to the court.

Qiu Jian, the plaintiff’s litigation attorney: After the staff member acting as a “ghost” appeared, another staff member of the defendant guided them into the elevator. She ran into the elevator and suddenly fell down.

Many game participants poured into the elevator, and one of them suddenly fell down.

A video provided by the defendant in the elevator where the incident occurred showed that several game participants poured into the elevator and someone suddenly fell down. The game then terminates. The person who fell was the plaintiff, Ms. Pang.

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s litigation attorney: She stopped playing immediately after falling, and the door was open. Then the defendant's staff member appeared, and she began to ask about the docking situation and whether she was injured. After asking about my injury in this park, I also did first aid and asked if there was any pain. After taking this Yunnan Baiyao, the staff drove me to the hospital in time.

Plaintiff: There are hidden dangers in the secret room.

After the doctor’s diagnosis, Ms. Pang’s right humerus was fractured. On that day, the operator of the secret room paid Ms. Pang’s medical expenses in advance. Since then, the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement on subsequent compensation. Ms. Pang believed that it was precisely because of the hidden dangers in the secret room that the merchants failed to fulfill their personal safety obligations during the operation process, which led to her injury.

Qiu Jian, attorney for the plaintiff: Anyone who gets on an elevator, whether it is a vertical elevator or an escalator, will be reminded not to run or hit. This is a very simple obligation. But during this game, as the plaintiff runs toward and enters the elevator, we don't see this happen at all. Second, coupled with the game process at that time, we can clearly see that this is a process where the lights are basically turned off. In this case, we believe that the accident caused by running into the elevator was the defendant's main fault and that he failed to provide corresponding safety protection.

Defendant: The main reason for the fall was that peers pushed each other.

The defendant, the escaped merchant, disagreed with the plaintiff, Ms. Pang. They believe that Ms. Pang's fall was mainly caused by the crowding and pushing between her and her companions.

The defendant entrusted litigation agent Liu Jiaming: He accidentally fell under his feet and was injured. It wasn't until she entered the elevator that she started falling. We do not think she said she tripped over the groove between the elevator door and the elevator shaft the moment she entered the elevator. We don't think the main reason is. The main reason is that there are many people in her group and they push each other.

The defendant believed that the plaintiff Ms. Pang’s injuries could not be attributed to the setting of the game scene. And for customer safety, they have limited the number of participants in each escape room game, and the use of elevators and other facilities also complies with relevant regulations.

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s attorney: We stipulate that this game cannot exceed 10 people at most, because the venue is limited and the capacity is limited. At the time of the incident, the elevator actually carried 12 people and was a normal commercial passenger elevator.

Qiu Jian, the plaintiff’s attorney: But as can be seen from the video, six people are very crowded, as can be seen from the video on elev

In response to the plaintiff’s claim that the lights at the game site were dim, the defendant I think the purpose of this is to create a real game atmosphere.

Liu Jiaming, the litigation attorney of the defendant: It was not that there was no light source at that time, the light source was very dark because it was to create such a terrifying environment.

We can still see the road under our feet, but the light is dim, we admit that.

The defendant believed that when the plaintiff, Ms. Pang, purchased the ticket and the game started, the merchant had given sufficient safety instructions.

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s litigation agent: placed an order through Dianping.com. Our defendants will also post this safety statement on a public comment page. It's not a paper ticket.

Judge Hu: There are corresponding prompts on the page, right?

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s litigation attorney: Yes, these reminders remind us that the defendant’s staff will inform us repeatedly after being present.

In response to the plaintiff’s claim that there were no safety prompts in the game venue, the defendant believed that they only arranged corresponding guides in the secret room for safety reasons.

View the scene online, and the defendant merchant shows relevant scene settings.

After the adjournment, the judge organized the original defendant and both parties to conduct an online inspection of the secret room. In response to the key issues in the trial, the defendant merchants were required to take detailed photos of relevant facilities.

When checking online, the judge asked the defendant merchant to introduce and show the elevator and related scene settings where the plaintiff, Ms. Pang, was injured.

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s litigation attorney: On the right side of this window is the elevator, and this position is the elevator. It's from this window. Jumping down is also part of the plot. In other words, jump down from here and guide the elevator.

At the time of the incident, the staff only opened one elevator door.

The video of the incident showed that it was the elevator door that Ms. Pang and her party passed by at the time of the incident, and the staff only opened one of the elevator doors at that time.

Judge: Measure the door you just entered, an arm's length door.

Liu Jiaming, the defendant’s attorney: 63 centimeters, about the same.

Are there any unsafe factors such as obstacles at the elevator entrance?

Mrs. Pang was startled

After rushing into this door with her companions, she fell to the ground. So, what is the situation on site? The defendant merchant also took photos to see if there were any unsafe factors such as steps or obstacles at the entrance of the elevator.

Liu Jiaming, the litigation attorney entrusted by the defendant: The normal route at that time was to run into the elevator and sit on the first floor, which was equivalent to escaping. Let me show you. In fact, this piece is straight. There is no suggestion that we make a small step or something that could easily trip someone up. He will just enter the elevator directly.

The risk warning column was not seen, and the merchant said it had been withdrawn due to modifications

During the on-site inspection, the judge found that there was no price list or risk warning column in the lobby of the defendant's store, and the staff It was explained that because the secret room is in the process of closing down, the price list and other related facilities such as the notice board need to be modified in content and have all been recycled, so they are not displayed in the store.

The court held that although the defendant made some risk warnings before the start of the project, it did not mean that the defendant had fulfilled its full risk warning obligations.

Judge Hu Lifang: In this case, the defendant claimed that when the plaintiff purchased tickets on the Dianping page, the page had corresponding safety tips, and before the game started, the defendant’s staff reminded the plaintiff of safety precautions. The defendant did not submit corresponding evidence to prove it. Moreover, the secret room game that the plaintiff participated in has a horror theme, is stimulating to a certain extent, and has certain requirements for the age and physical condition of the participants. Therefore, the defendant should fulfill a higher risk warning obligation, but the existing evidence is not enough to prove that the defendant Full reminder obligations have been fulfilled.

The presence of safety hazards in the premises was the main cause of the plaintiff's injury

At the same time, the lighting, facilities and route settings in the defendant's business premises had safety hazards, which were also the main cause of the plaintiff's injury to Ms. Pang. reason.

Judge Hu Lifang: According to the video on the day of the incident, the elevator the plaintiff and others took during the game was narrow, with an entrance width of only 63 centimeters, and there were many people participating in the game, which easily caused crowding. Moreover, the game creates a nighttime atmosphere, and the game route involves multiple people running from a secret room into an elevator to avoid being chased by zombies. This game session, the design of the game route, and the narrow elevator environment can easily cause panic and crowding. In addition, the defendant did not set up any safety guidance signs during the game, and the staff did not provide on-site risk warnings. Therefore, the game lines set up by the defendant and the game environment provided by the defendant contained certain safety risks.

The plaintiff knew the dangers of the game but also negligently assumed secondary responsibility

The court held that the plaintiff voluntarily chose to participate in such horror-themed games and had a certain understanding of the game content. You should pay attention to protecting your own safety during the game.

Judge Hu Lifang: This court believes that first of all, the plaintiff knew that the project involved in the case was a horror subject before purchasing the tickets. As a person with full capacity for civil conduct, he should have certain knowledge of the horror and excitement elements that may be produced by this type of game. Make predictions and choose whether to participate based on your own circumstances. Secondly, the plaintiff voluntarily chooses to participate in such horror-themed games and should fulfill a higher safety obligation than in general entertainment activities. Finally, the plaintiff recognized that the defendant introduced the game process before the game started, so the plaintiff had a certain understanding of the zombie chasing and escape process in advance, and should pay attention to protecting his own safety during the game.

Judge Hu Lifang: This court believes that the plaintiff himself was also at fault for the occurrence of the damage. This court made a judgment based on the proportion of the defendant bearing 80% and the plaintiff bearing 20%.

The defendant bore primary responsibility and was awarded over 190,000 yuan in compensation in the first instance

The first instance judgment of the Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court: The defendant paid the plaintiff Ms. Pang medical expenses, nursing expenses, lost work expenses, Disability compensation totals more than 194,000 yuan.

The judge said that as an operator, you should fulfill your responsibilities during the safety protection process.

Hu Lifang, Judge of the Chaoyang District People’s Court: In fact, for the operator, the main test is whether he has fulfilled his safety protection obligations during the game. We should actually consider the security obligation from three aspects. It includes your three aspects before, during and after the event. Before the event, for example, we need to give the player some game process. explain.

The judge suggested that during the gaming process, operators should also provide consumers with multiple protections.

Hu Lifang, Judge of the Chaoyang District People’s Court: Then in the process of this game, there are some tips about some risks that may exist, and then there are also some safety tips, etc. We need to provide consumers with a A safe game environment, including corresponding facilities and equipment, and various facilities in the game environment must be guaranteed to be within a normal range of use.

Although immersive games such as escape rooms and script killing games are thrilling and realistic to play, will consumers worry about the possible risks during the entire experience? As a game merchant, how can we provide consumers with quality and safe services?

This is a risk notice from an escape room venue in Beijing. However, faced with several pages of tips and notices, some consumers said they often do not read it carefully.

Experts: Risk warnings cannot be just a formality

Experts point out that if risk warnings and other notifications are just a formality, they cannot effectively protect consumers.

Shi Jiayou, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: For example, when people purchase tickets, you may have set up a long list of notifications and consents before the ticket purchase process, and consumers usually don’t have time. , and may not pay attention to look carefully, so here it is just for you to set a notification consent when purchasing tickets online. This is not enough, even if you play a simple short film or a video of several minutes, such as All game participants must watch a three-minute video telling everyone these situations.

Some consumers said that during the game, merchants would not proactively provide safety reminders.

Experts believe that although businesses must ensure the atmosphere of the entire entertainment event, they can also fulfill their risk warning obligations through other methods.

Shi Jiayou, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: For example, if during the game, the staff frequently use the loudspeaker to remind you to pay attention to risks and what to pay attention to, it may indeed harm the consumers themselves. Game experience, this is an objective situation. Of course, this is to remind us that as an operator, the method of prompting can also be adopted in other ways. For example, you can set up warning lights and reflective fluorescent slogans, so as not to damage the game of consumers. Experience, on the other hand, it also serves as a risk reminder.

Consumers should choose entertainment projects based on their psychological endurance

Some consumers also said that the scary and gloomy themes in "escape" games are also a challenge to their psychological endurance. , but between not daring to play and wanting to play, they often choose the latter. Legal professionals pointed out that consumers should also choose entertainment projects that suit them based on their psychological endurance.

Hu Lifang, Judge of the People's Court of Chaoyang District, Beijing: There are many types of games, such as our horror games, which may involve a psychological expectation of whether I can bear the risk of terror. Of course, There are also other things involved, because the merchant will introduce to you what kind of events and situations you will go through during the game. As for this player, I also need to make an evaluation on whether I can participate in such a game based on my own abilities.

Promoting the healthy development of the industry requires the joint efforts of multiple departments

Injury cases in "scripted secret room" games occur from time to time. As a game operator, in addition to ensuring consumption In addition to the safety of operators, how to promote the healthy development of the industry is also one of the tests they face, and this requires the joint efforts of the market and regulatory authorities.

Shi Jiayou, professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: It should be said that our scripted entertainment venues and this industry have developed very rapidly in recent years. While it is developing very fast, some problems do occur and some accidental injuries occur. This is also the case like the case we discussed. Judging from such cases, in our business premises, our operators should strictly abide by the provisions of the Civil Code, the Consumer Rights Protection Act and other laws, fulfill their safety guarantee obligations, and provide the necessary safety measures for the personal and property safety of consumers. Guarantee

Five departments jointly issued a document to manage new business formats such as "script killing"

On June 25, 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Emergency Five departments including the Ministry of Management and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Scripted Entertainment Business Venues" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice").

Shi Jiayou, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: The main purpose of this notice on strengthening the management of scripted entertainment business venues jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other five ministries is to ensure the healthy development of the industry itself. , to avoid this kind of barbaric growth and disorderly expansion of the industry itself.

Legal experts said that the "Notice" mentioned strengthening industry self-discipline will have an extremely important impact on the future development of scripted entertainment business venues.

Shi Jiayou, professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: It mentioned strengthening industry self-discipline, which will have an important impact on the future development of the industry. According to this "Notice", in the future, relevant industry associations will actively organize members to formulate a scientific and complete self-regulatory management mechanism for content security. This is very important. We say that self-discipline review of script content and self-management are very important. of.

Shi Jiayou, professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China: There are many very important systems here, such as informative filing, which places special emphasis on self-management and self-censorship of content. In addition, special emphasis is placed on the protection of minors, including strengthening the main responsibility for safe production, and requiring the industry to strengthen self-discipline. We say that such important requirements will have a series of very important impacts on the future development of the industry. Related Q&A: Is homicide an accidental injury? Can accident insurance cover compensation?

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