CNY 85,951 Bus-E-Bike Collision: Full Driver Fault, 10th-Grade Leg Fracture Disability

A large passenger bus operated by a transportation company struck an electric bicycle rider who was crossing a national highway at an intersection. The bus driver was found entirely at fault. The cyclist suffered compound fractures of the right tibia and fibula requiring surgical fixation, followed by a recommendation for a second surgery to remove hardware. A judicial appraisal later confirmed a 10th-grade disability rating. The court ordered the bus company’s insurer to pay CNY 85,950.85 in total damages, from which the plaintiff was required to refund a CNY 30,000 advance previously paid by the transport company.

The accident happened on February 27, 2011, at approximately 12:25 along National Highway G318 at kilometer marker 344 plus 300 meters. The defendant driver was operating a large conventional bus owned by Fanchang Ring-Tong Transportation Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Wuntai Group, traveling from Fanchang County toward Xuancheng City. The plaintiff was riding a Yongneng-brand electric bicycle and attempting to cross the highway from south to north when the bus struck him. A traffic police investigation concluded that the bus driver had failed to exercise due caution approaching an intersection and assigned one hundred percent of fault to the driver. The plaintiff was found to have contributed no causal negligence to the collision.

Emergency medical services transported the plaintiff to Yiji Mountain Hospital in Wuhu City. Imaging studies revealed comminuted fractures of the right tibia and fibula classified as polytrauma. The patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery and remained hospitalized for twenty-three days. Documented medical expenses totaled CNY 25,816.45. The attending physician issued a discharge recommendation for six months of convalescent leave and advised that a second surgery would be necessary to remove the internal fixation hardware once the bones had sufficiently healed. In November 2011, a forensic appraisal by Anhui Wan Yi Judicial Appraisal Center certified a 10th-grade disability and estimated the cost of the planned second operation at approximately CNY 7,000. The parties subsequently stipulated that CNY 6,000 would be used as the agreed figure for the pending second procedure.

The defendant transport company acknowledged that the driver was an employee acting within the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident and accepted vicarious liability for his negligence. It disclosed that the bus was insured with PICC Property and Casualty Insurance Company’s Wuhu branch under both a compulsory traffic liability policy and a CNY 500,000 commercial third-party liability policy with no deductible, plus an additional CNY 50,000 rider specifically covering pain-and-suffering damages. The insurer confirmed coverage but noted that the pain-and-suffering rider carried a twenty-percent coinsurance penalty. The transport company had advanced CNY 30,000 to the plaintiff toward medical expenses and asked that this amount be factored into the final settlement.

The court undertook a line-by-line assessment of each claimed category of loss. Medical expenses were allowed at CNY 25,973.45 based on submitted invoices. Hospital meal allowance and nutritional support were each set at CNY 460 reflecting twenty-three days at twenty yuan per diem. The stipulated second-surgery allowance of CNY 6,000 was accepted. Nursing care was calculated at fifty-six yuan eighty fen per day for twenty-three days, yielding CNY 1,306.40. Lost wages were computed at eighty yuan per day for 143 days (twenty-three hospital days plus 120 days of reduced convalescence), totaling CNY 11,440. Disability compensation was assessed using urban resident standards at CNY 15,788 annually multiplied by twenty years and the 10th-grade coefficient of ten percent, producing CNY 31,576. Additional items included appraisal fees of CNY 1,300, transportation costs of CNY 800, pain-and-suffering damages of CNY 5,000 (allocated CNY 1,000 to compulsory coverage and CNY 4,000 to the special rider), vehicle damage of CNY 1,440, and towing fees of CNY 195. The grand total came to CNY 85,950.85, well within combined policy limits, so the insurer was ordered to pay the full amount with a corresponding reimbursement obligation running from the plaintiff back to the transport company for the CNY 30,000 advance.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Traffic accident compensation standards vary significantly across jurisdictions. Consult a qualified attorney for advice tailored to your specific situation.