Friends drunk to death at dinner, negligence and sharing responsibility
□ Our reporter Huang Hui
□ The reporter's trainee reporter Zhou Xiaoqing
□ Correspondent Liu Rongxia
If you have a dinner with your friends and died unfortunately due to excessive drinking, do people who drink together need to be held responsible?
Recently, the Intermediate People's Court of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province made a final judgment on a personal injury dispute caused by death caused by drinking.
On December 27, 2019, Zhou went to the restaurant for dinner at the invitation of Wang.
During the dinner, Xiao, Wang, and Xie all participated in drinking, while Yuan and the other three did not drink.
Zhou drank a lot because of Wang's persuasion, and it didn't take long for him to be completely drunk.
Afterwards, everyone carried Zhou to the car together. The family members found that he was lying on the back seat pad alone and his skin was purple, so he was taken to the hospital.
Others continued to drink during this period.
In the end, Zhou died after being rescued.
According to judicial appraisal, Zhou Mou died of malignant arrhythmia caused by right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Drinking can be used as a predisposing factor for malignant arrhythmia in right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
As a result, Zhou’s family took Xiao, Wang, and Xie to court, demanding compensation for a total of more than 900,000 yuan, including funeral expenses, death compensation, and mental damage relief.
The court of first instance held that Zhou, as a person with full capacity for civil conduct, should be predictive of the risks caused by drinking, but he still allowed this risk to exist and was at a greater fault in his death.
Xiao, Wang, and Xie were negligent, and there was a certain causal relationship between Zhou's final death, so the joint drinkers were ordered to bear a total of 20% of the liability risk: Xiao and Wang, as drinking organizers, should treat Drinkers have a certain duty of safety and care, so Xiao, Wang, and Xie respectively assume the proportions of 8%, 8%, and 4%.
Yuan and other three people did not participate in the drinking, and did not fault Zhou for the risks caused by drinking, and did not bear civil liability.
The defendant refused to accept it and filed an appeal.
The court of second instance upheld the judgment that the deceased Zhou was responsible for 80% and those who did not participate in the drinker were not responsible; the co-drinkers Wang, Xiao, and Xie were respectively liable for 10%, 6%, and 4%.
Judge's statement
The judge said after the court that in recent years, the number of compensation cases caused by joint drinking behavior has increased. Under normal circumstances, the drinker who has suffered personal injury should be responsible for it, because only oneself knows the amount of personal drinking and physical condition, and it is difficult for others to make accurate judgments. Therefore, I shall bear the main or full responsibility for the consequences of drinking.
However, if there is a compulsory persuasion, knowing that the other party cannot drink and still persuading alcohol, failing to escort the drunk safely, or driving under the influence of alcohol without dissuasion, causing a car accident, the "alcoholic" should also bear the corresponding compensation liability.