Is it the customer's responsibility to fall on the parked elevator and hurt the mall?

Zhang Mei (pseudonym) and her daughter accidentally fell off the escalator while shopping in Century Jinyuan Shopping Center, resulting in many injuries. After the incident, the mother and daughter sued the shopping center to the court for compensation, and the shopping center said that the elevator was out of service at that time, so the responsibility for this matter was not in the shopping mall. Recently, the Baohe District Court made a first-instance judgment on this case.

Zhang Mei, who is over 70 years old, complained that when she and her daughter went downstairs by escalator at the entrance of Century Jinyuan Shopping Center, they just stepped on the escalator, and the elevator suddenly broke down, and they were immediately thrown off the escalator. After diagnosis, she suffered from right rib fracture, nasal bone fracture, multiple wounds inside and outside the mouth and nose, and was hospitalized for 8 days with multiple sutures.

Zhang Mei's daughter's left face and left eye were swollen and bloodshot, and her mouth and lips had serrated wounds, which were stitched with multiple needles. The mother and daughter thought there was something wrong with the elevator, so they sued the Baohe District Court and asked the shopping center to bear the corresponding liability for compensation.

Regarding this matter, Hefei Century Jinyuan Shopping Center Co., Ltd. argued that the escalator involved was in the inspection period at the time of the incident, and the escalator had been shut down (no electricity) before and on the day of the incident. The injury of Zhang Mei's mother and daughter was not caused by the sudden failure of the escalator, which is not a fact. In addition, the shopping center believes that the escalator that has stopped running has posted warm tips and safety warning signs, and has fulfilled its safety guarantee obligations and should not bear any responsibility.

The court found that at the time of the accident, the escalator involved was out of service, and no maintenance tips were posted at the entrance of the downlink, while warm tips were posted at the uplink. The court held that Zhang Mei's mother and daughter should be responsible for the consequences of their actions. According to the relevant video records, the escalator stopped working that day. Although there is no warning sign posted at the entrance to the downlink, Zhang Mei and her daughter should do their duty of care to avoid walking on the stopped elevator. The mall has also set up vertical elevators and walking stairs for customers to choose from. Zhang Mei's mother and daughter fell down because of their lack of self-prevention, which was a big mistake.

Hefei Century Jinyuan Shopping Center Co., Ltd., as the manager, posted some warning signs, but failed to place facilities prohibiting the use of stopped escalators, failed to post enough warning signs on the upper and lower positions of elevators, failed to arrange on-site management personnel, and failed to achieve reasonable safety protection, and should bear corresponding responsibilities.

The court ruled that the shopping center should bear 40% of the compensation liability, and the mother and daughter should bear 60% of the compensation liability themselves. Accordingly, the court of first instance ruled that Hefei Century Jinyuan Shopping Center Co., Ltd. compensated Zhang Mei for more than 6,000 yuan and his daughter for more than 3,000 yuan.

Content source: Netease News