In modern China, tripping over a suitcase is a matter for the courts

Next time you take a railway journey, be careful where you put that suitcase. A family in China has caused uproar by trying to sue a rail passenger whose baggage tripped up their elderly mother.

The Wang family say the passenger is to blame for the death of their mother, 67, even though she passed away two weeks after her fall at the Beijing West Railway Station on March 8 last year.

They are demanding the owner of the suitcase - a 63-year-old woman surnamed Liu - pay medical expenses and compensation for their mother's death and their own mental distress amounting to more than 620,000 yuan (about US$91,200).

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While a district court has initially ruled against their claims, the Wangs are pursuing the matter in the hope of proving Liu's negligence, sparking widespread controversy online. Many Chinese have been critical of the Wangs, with some of the harsher critics suggesting they are trying to profit from their mother's death and holding them up as an example of China's increasingly litigious society.

A FATAL FALL

The saga began at around noon on the day in question when the senior Wang and her son - who was not a travelling passenger - attempted to enter the railway station from the second floor entrance.

Without a valid ticket, Wang's son was told by railway staff that if he wanted to enter the station to send off his mother, he would have to purchase an entry pass from the ticketing booth outside the station.

So mother and son turned around to walk out and found themselves, like salmon swimming upstream, going against the direction of human traffic.

Travellers at the Beijing West Railway Station. Photo: AFP alt=Travellers at the Beijing West Railway Station. Photo: AFP

Wang's son says it was at this point that his mother fell over the rolling suitcase of Liu.

Initially, Wang did not appear to have sustained any external injuries. She went on to board the train, but developed severe headaches and dizziness during the journey.

By the time the train arrived at her destination of Shijiazhuang - almost 300km southwest of Beijing - nearly five hours later, Wang was unconscious and had to be carried off in a wheelchair.

Wang's niece, who had come to pick Wang up from the railway station, rushed her aunt to the hospital. Doctors found Wang to be suffering a cerebral haemorrhage and she died 15 days later.

COURTING CONTROVERSY

Wang's family took their case against Liu to Beijing's Fengtai District Court to push their demands for compensation, convinced the fall at the railway station was what caused the haemorrhage.

In defence, Liu argued Wang had been walking quickly against the flow of passenger traffic in an attempt to catch up with her son. Liu added that after the fall, Wang's son had allowed his mother to board the train instead of seeking immediate medical treatment. She argued this delay could have itself caused Wang's death.

The suitcase gets its day in court. Photo: Internet alt=The suitcase gets its day in court. Photo: Internet

Surveillance cameras showed that Liu had tried to swerve out of Wang's way. However, Wang appeared to have been totally oblivious to the suitcase.

The court threw out the Wangs' claims late last month, saying that both Wang and her son should have taken more care as they were the ones walking in the opposite direction of passenger traffic.

"Wang should have taken precautions and observed her surroundings more carefully. If she had done so, the collision could have been avoided," the court said, noting that the luggage had not been left unattended and Liu could not have done anything differently to prevent the incident.

"Even though the incident is regrettable, Wang should be held wholly responsible. Liu should not be expected to exercise a higher degree of caution as she was walking normally and not doing anything out of the ordinary," the court added.

It concluded by calling on the public to exercise greater care and caution when accompanying the elderly in crowded places.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the family has vowed to contest the decision in higher courts.

CASE CLOSED?

Calling the case and looming appeal a waste of time, many Chinese netizens called on Wang's family to accept the mishap and move on with their lives.

Beijing-based lawyer Chen Bin applauded the decision, saying Liu's actions could in no way be considered dangerous. "It was not behaviour that can be commonly thought of as potentially harmful or injurious to others, such as running with the suitcase in a crowded railway station, or placing one's luggage in a dangerous manner in the train's overhead compartment," Chen said.

Surveillance camera footage of the moments after Wang's fall. Photo: Internet alt=Surveillance camera footage of the moments after Wang's fall. Photo: Internet

Many members of the public expressed relief that the court had not erred on the side of sympathy, a victory for those claim Chinese society has become overly litigious in recent years.

Recent controversial rulings have included a case in 2017, when a man was crushed to death at the Nanjing Railway Station after he illegally crossed the platform to catch a train. The family successfully sued the railway bureau for 800,000 yuan (about US$117,800).

Last year in central Henan province, a drunken man fell asleep past midnight near the entrance of an underground car park and was run over by a car. The driver was ordered to pay compensation to the victim's family for negligence resulting in death.

Angered with past decisions, many members of the public have welcomed the latest ruling as an indication people should take responsibility for their actions.

But it is far from clear this is an open and shut case. First, there is the appeal to consider. And even if the Wangs are unsuccessful they have other options. If they fail, online critics have sniped, who else might they try to sue - the railway station or even the suitcase company?

There is also one other avenue for litigation, albeit one that won't be popular with the Wangs. One online critic suggested "unreasonable plaintiffs" such as the Wangs should be compelled by the court not only to apologise to wrongly accused defendants, but to pay compensation for their mental distress too.

Said the netizen: "This is the only way to prevent people from filing such absurd lawsuits."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.