Brief of the case

    In November 2023, Gao XX drove a heavy semi-trailer owned by a logistics company and An Yi on foot had an accident, the vehicle was damaged and An Yi was injured. Later, Mu XX drove a large ordinary bus owned by a bus group to the accident site, and ran over An Yi who fell on the road due to injuries. An Yi was injured and died after rescue efforts. 

    After the accident, the public security traffic management department made a road traffic accident confirmation letter, and determined that Gao XX assumed the main responsibility of the accident, An Yi assumed the secondary responsibility of the accident, and Miao XX assumed the secondary responsibility of the accident. 

    The heavy semi-tractor owned by a logistics company is insured by an agricultural insurance company, the special car third party liability insurance is insured by a person's life property insurance company (the insurance amount is 1 million yuan), and the large ordinary bus owned by a public transportation group is insured by a property insurance company, and the accident occurs during the insurance period. 

    An Jia (the father of An Yi) and others sued Gao, a logistics company, Miao, a bus group, an agricultural insurance company, a property insurance company, and a life and property insurance company to the court, demanding compensation for death compensation, mental damage compensation and other losses of more than 1.7 million yuan.

Court hearing

    After hearing, the court held that with respect to the compensation for mental damage, in accordance with the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 192, paragraph 3, provides: "If driving a motor vehicle causes death to a person or heavy losses of public or private property, and constitutes a crime, the liability for compensation shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 76 of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China." Therefore, the scope of civil compensation liability for damage caused by traffic accident is different from other crimes. Article 76 of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "In case of personal injury or death or property damage caused by a motor vehicle traffic accident, the insurance company shall pay compensation within the limitation of liability of the compulsory third party liability insurance for motor vehicles...... " According to the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on several issues relating to the Application of Law in the trial of Road Traffic Accident Damage Compensation Cases, Article 13, paragraph 2, provides: "Where the infringed or his close relatives request the insurance company that underwrites traffic force insurance to give priority to compensation for mental damage, the people's court shall support it." Therefore, in the case that the infringer constitutes a traffic crime, the infringer or his close relatives have the right to request the insurance company that underwrites the infringer's use of vehicle traffic insurance to give priority to compensation for spiritual damage, and the insufficient compensation for material damage shall be compensated by the commercial third party liability insurance according to the above laws and judicial interpretations. The court ruled that an agricultural insurance company and a property insurance company gave priority to compensate An Jia and Wang for their mental damage within the scope of compulsory traffic insurance.

Judge's statement

    In practice, the people's court generally does not accept the case in which the victim's personal injury is caused by the criminal act, but for the crime of traffic accident, the compensation for mental damage has a clear application space. According to the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues relating to the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases of Compensation for Damage caused by Road traffic Accidents, the compensation for mental damage caused by traffic accidents can be covered by the compensation scope of traffic insurance. And within the compensation scope of the traffic insurance priority compensation. The subject of compensation is not the defendant who constitutes a crime, but the insurance company that underwrote the insurance vehicle compulsory insurance. In this way, it does not conflict with the existing legal norms that do not support the appeal of compensation for the defendant's mental damage, and it can enable the infringed and his close relatives to obtain effective compensation. Therefore, in the case of personal injury caused by a traffic crime, the parties put forward a request for compensation for mental damage, the people's court should support.

    This article is transferred from the "Shandong High Law" wechat public number, thank you!