More than often, injuries sustained within business premises raise the question of whether the operator or the injured party bears responsibility. The best way to understand the spirit of the law is through case examples. Let’s see the following case:
In June 2022, Plaintiff Li claimed that while staying at the Defendant’s hotel, he slipped and fell in the bathroom the following morning, incurring medical expenses of 46,000 yuan, and missing work for 14 days. Failing to reach a settlement with the hotel, Li sued, seeking compensation totaling 72,000 yuan.
The Plaintiff argued that the Defendant failed to lay down water barriers in the bathing area, causing the floor to be slippery, and only provided guests with fabric indoor slippers instead of plastic anti-slip ones. Consequently, the Defendant did not fulfill its security and safety obligations and should bear corresponding liability for the damages.
The Defendant countered by stating that there was no slippery condition within the room and had affixed a warning sign reading “Caution: Slippery Floor” in the bathroom where the Plaintiff fell, along with placing a bath mat at the entrance. The Defendant argued that the Plaintiff’s fall was due to his own actions and, as such, the hotel had already waived the lodging fee for Plaintiff.
The court held that according to Article 1198 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, operators or managers of commercial venues like hotels, malls, banks, stations, airports, sports stadiums, entertainment venues, or organizers of mass activities shall assume tort liability if they fail to fulfill their duty of ensuring safety and cause harm to others.
As a business establishment, the hotel has an obligation to ensure the safety of individuals and property within its premises, commonly known as the ‘duty of care.’ However, this duty is subject to certain limitations.
In this case, the room occupied by the Plaintiff was a relatively enclosed private space, and the incident occurred more than ten hours after his check-in. The Plaintiff failed to provide evidence demonstrating that the floor was indeed slippery when he entered the bathroom early in the morning and could not pinpoint the exact cause of his fall. Given that the Plaintiff, as an adult, should have exercised primary caution in ensuring his safety within the private space, coupled with other factors such as the use of smooth ceramic tiles on the hotel’s floors, the court decided that the Defendant should bear 20% of the liability for Plaintiff’s injuries.
You get the spirit of the law now?
