Court Awards CNY 73,194 in Fatal Hit-and-Run Car Crash
A court in Eastern China City has ruled in favor of a plaintiff seeking compensation for injuries and the death of her husband following a hit-and-run accident. The defendant driver was found fully liable, while the vehicle owner was not held responsible. The insurer was ordered to pay within policy limits.
The accident occurred on June 22, 2011, at 9:35 PM when the defendant, Mr. Long, drove a car owned by Mr. Gan along a road in Central China City. He struck two pedestrians: Mr. Gao, who died at the scene, and Ms. Feng, the plaintiff and Mr. Gao’s wife, who suffered multiple fractures and other injuries. Mr. Long fled the scene but surrendered three days later. The traffic police determined that Mr. Long bore full responsibility for the crash. Ms. Feng underwent 28 days of hospitalization and was later diagnosed with a 10% permanent disability. She sued Mr. Long, Mr. Gan, and the third-party insurer, Huatai Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (Central China Province Branch), seeking approximately CNY 78,383 in damages.
At trial, the court reviewed extensive evidence, including the traffic accident report, medical records and bills, a forensic disability assessment, insurance policies, and the criminal judgment against Mr. Long for causing a traffic accident resulting in death. All parties appeared through counsel except Mr. Long, who was serving a prison sentence. The insurer argued that Mr. Long’s hit-and-run constituted a breach of the insurance contract, excluding coverage under the commercial third-party liability policy. Mr. Gan maintained that he had lent the car without fault and bore no liability.
The court found Mr. Long fully liable for the accident based on the official traffic report. It accepted that Mr. Gan had no fault in lending the vehicle, as there was no evidence he knew of any risk. The court then approved the following damages: medical expenses of CNY 24,046.59, disability compensation of CNY 30,922 (based on 10% disability for 20 years using the urban income standard), hospital meals of CNY 560, lost income of CNY 6,645.69 (calculated at 90 days of missed work at the local average wage), nursing care of CNY 1,120, transportation costs of CNY 200, appraisal fees of CNY 700, future medical expenses of CNY 8,000 for hardware removal, and emotional distress damages of CNY 1,000. The total awarded was approximately CNY 73,194.
The court applied relevant provisions of Chinese tort law and the Supreme People’s Court interpretations