Lost 230,000 yuan! Just because he placed a stone in the fire escape……

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Last July, a heartbreaking news report emerged about a boy dying after falling from a fire escape window. However, after the child fell to his death, a stone that shouldn’t have been there remained at the scene of the crime. A lawsuit seeking compensation of over 1.15 million yuan was thus filed... There was a stone 0.15 meters high under the window. Both Zhu and his wife Wu were workers who came to Shanghai to work; in 2013, the couple gave birth to their son Rui Rui as \"elderly parents\". At the end of 2015, two-year-old Ruirui fell to his death after dropping from a window in the fire escape on the fifth and a half floor of Building 12 in the residential complex. After reviewing the surveillance footage and conducting an investigation by the police, the Zhu couple believe that the tragedy was caused by the property management’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities and a rock located under the window on the fifth floor and a half. They sued the property owner and the neighbor Yuan, who placed the stones, demanding that both defendants jointly pay compensation of over 1.15 million yuan. Lost 230,000 yuan! It was only because he placed a stone in the fire escape… The gaps between the bars on the windows of the fire escape were large, allowing the windows to be pushed open easily. Surveillance footage showed that before the incident, the access door to Building 12 was open, allowing the child to enter the building on his own. After using the elevator to go up and down several times, he entered the fire escape on the 4th floor and fell from a window on the fire escape at the 5.5th floor. According to the police investigation, the window in the fire escape on the 5.5th floor was open, and there was a stone 0.15 meters high beneath the window. Based on fingerprints, footprints, and signs of climbing found at the scene, it is likely that Rui Rui stepped on the stone to climb up to the window sill before falling unfortunately. The two plaintiffs argue that Rui Rui was only 0.8 meters tall, while the window was 1.05 meters high; if Yuan had not placed stones under the window, it would have been impossible for the child to climb up the window and die. At the same time, the property management company failed to maintain the access controls properly, did not clean the fire exits in a timely manner, and the surveillance room also failed to detect the danger promptly; therefore, it should bear liability for compensation. Tragedy occurs through windows in fire escape routes. The defendant’s claim: The property management argued that the construction of the windows in the fire exits met safety standards, and there were no regulations requiring the installation of protective measures ； At the same time, it informed the residents at the time of move-in that clutter could not be placed in the corridors, and jointly with the neighborhood committee it issued a deadline for the removal of such clutter; thus, it has fulfilled its obligations regarding safety assurance. Neighbor Yuan argued that the plaintiff failed to provide conclusive evidence showing that the victim died from falling through a window in the fire escape, therefore his act of placing stones had no causal relationship with the victim’s death. After reviewing the case, the court held that, based on the surveillance footage, interrogation records, photographs, and the statements of the parties involved, it could be confirmed that Rui Rui climbed up to the window by stepping on stones under the fire escape window and unfortunately fell to her death. As Rui Rui’s guardian, the plaintiff failed to fulfill their guardianship duties and should bear responsibility for such negligence. Yuan violated the community regulations by placing stones in the hallway, and the property management company failed to fulfill its proper responsibilities for safety management; both parties should bear certain liability for compensation. Taking all the factors of this case into consideration, it is determined that Yuan and the property management company shall each bear 20% of the liability for compensation, paying each of the two plaintiffs over 230,000 yuan. The two defendants appealed against the decision, but their appeal was rejected; the judgment is now in force. It is prohibited to pile up miscellaneous items in common passages. In many residential complexes, various personal belongings are often piled up in stairwells and fire exits; such seemingly trivial actions can result in legal consequences if they lead to adverse outcomes! The corridors in community apartment buildings are jointly owned by all owners and constitute common passageways ； Fire exits, on the other hand, are \"lifelines\" that serve the functions of disaster relief and evacuation. According to Article 89 of the Tort Liability Law of the People’s Republic of China: “Those who pile up, dump, or scatter items on public roads, thereby obstructing traffic and causing harm to others, shall bear tort liability.” ” Therefore, as residents of the community, we should take it upon ourselves to maintain the public environment in the stairwells; miscellaneous items should be placed and cleaned up in designated areas, so as to create a safe and harmonious living space. A stone measuring 0.15 meters resulted in a compensation payment of 230,000 yuan, and it also led to an irreparable tragedy. Within chance lies inevitability, and this incident serves as another warning regarding child safety! A child’s awareness of self-protection, parents’ constant duty to supervise, the preventive measures that should be in place in buildings, and citizens’ awareness of rules in social life – only by ensuring that all these aspects are properly addressed can we create a safe and happy living environment for every child!