In the secret room, who is responsible for the injury while escaping?
Here, you can be Yu Zecheng in "Hidden", looking for life in crisis; you can be Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock", breaking the mystery; or you can be Rong Jin in "Decryption" Jane, solve the crisis at the end of the minute...
With its immersive puzzle-solving experience, room escape games are popular nowadays and become the first choice for young people to play in their spare time.
But in recent years, safety accidents of escape room have occurred frequently.
When playing an escape room, who should be responsible for compensation, and how should the proportion of responsibility be distributed?
Case number one
Improper game environment settings
Player Tendon Rupture
Xiaozhuang accidentally fell while participating in an escape room game with friends, and his right hand was scratched by interior decoration items. Later, it was diagnosed as tendon rupture and soft tissue damage, and had to undergo surgery.
Xiaozhuang believes that the security of the secret room is not in place, some of the decorations in the secret room are sharp, there is no soft-pack material on the ground, and the steps are also arranged in an irregular shape, which caused his injury.
The operator of the secret room believes that the reason why Xiaozhuang fell was mainly because a companion was about to fall, and he stepped forward to protect him. Moreover, Xiaozhuang did not wear gloves as required by the game, so he should not be liable for compensation.
Xiaozhuang and the operator of the secret room failed to reach an agreement on compensation, so they appealed to the court and asked them to bear the cost of hospital meal allowance, nursing expenses, lost work expenses, transportation expenses, nutrition expenses and other expenses totaling more than 200,000 yuan.
After the trial, the court found that the main reason for Xiaozhuang's injury was that there were potential safety hazards in the game environment at the venue at that time, including the high level of steps, which were slightly steep, and there were sharp crystal-like decorations next to them. There is no evidence that the secret room staff explicitly told Xiaozhuang that he should wear gloves during the game.
The court held that the operator of the secret room, as the operator of the entertainment venue, should maintain a subjective sense of safety at all times, and should not emphasize objective reasons in the way Xiaozhuang fell and the wearing of gloves.
In the end, the court ruled in favor of Xiaozhuang's claim and ruled that the operator of the secret room should bear all the compensation liabilities.
statement
Cui Cheng, Assistant Judge of Shuangqiao Court of Beijing Chaoyang Court, explained that the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that the operators, managers or the masses of hotels, shopping malls, banks, railway stations, airports, stadiums, entertainment venues and other business places and public places The organizer of sexual activity, who fails to fulfill the obligation of safety protection and causes damage to others, shall bear tort liability.
This article is a principled provision for the safety guarantee obligation, which refers to the safety guarantee obligation that the operator undertakes in accordance with the law for the personal and property safety of consumers, potential consumers or other persons entering the service place at the business premises.
In judicial practice, judging whether and how much responsibility an operator assumes should be based on whether the operator has fulfilled its security obligations within a "reasonable limit", mainly including "people" and "things". On the other hand, the business premises and facilities should also meet national standards or relevant industry standards, and relevant measures should be taken to eliminate potential safety hazards.
When players go to play in the secret room, the operator of the secret room should ensure the personal safety and property safety of the player during the game, and should pay attention to the setting of all aspects of the game. However, in the above case, the setting of the secret room environment itself has security. Hidden danger, there are problems such as steep steps and sharp decorations next to it, and there is no obvious warning slogan or oral guidance, causing players to be injured, obviously not fulfilling the duty of care within a reasonable limit, and should be fully liable for compensation.
Case 2
Pursuing exciting projects, falling from high altitude fractures nasal bone
Xiaoli and a few friends took advantage of the weekend to participate in the escape room game. In pursuit of excitement, they chose a more intense three-level game state and entered the game after signing the "Entry Instructions".
When participating in the high-altitude game session, according to the game settings, Xiaoli was pushed off the elastic net by the staff, and she accidentally fractured her nasal bone.
Xiaoli believes that the staff did not fulfill the duty of safety protection by pushing it off the elastic net without any advance notice and notification.
The operator believes that before the start of the game and during the game, the staff reminded the game content, strength, and safety matters verbally and in writing, and Xiaoli also signed the admission notice to confirm that she clearly knew risk, so the operator has fulfilled its full duty of reminder.
The two parties could not reach an agreement on compensation, so Xiaoli sued the court and asked the company to bear the medical expenses, nutrition expenses, lost work expenses, transportation expenses and other expenses.
After hearing, the court held that the game involved in the case was a high-altitude falling game, the drop between the upper and lower platforms was high, and the elastic force of the elastic net was large. Safety risk warnings are set up in the game area, and there is no evidence to prove that her staff has fully informed Xiaoli of the content and risks of dangerous game links. Therefore, the company has not fully reminded the potential safety hazards of the game.
At the same time, it can be seen from the video that the staff made obvious fake actions before pushing Xiaoli down, and before the end of the notification sound, she was about to push Xiaoli off the tower, which would have a certain impact on Xiaoli's normal whereabouts, so it should be determined that the company did not It should bear the main compensation liability if it fulfills its security obligations within a reasonable limit.
But on the other hand, as a game participant, Xiaoli should choose whether to participate in the game session set up by the operator of the secret room based on her physical condition. She has a certain degree of foresight of the possible risks in the game, and pays attention to protection during the game. one's own safety.
As a person with full capacity for civil conduct, Xiaoli should have an understanding and judgment on whether she can play the game. She voluntarily participated in more exciting game projects, putting herself at risk, and did not fulfill the duty of safety precautions in the game. There are certain problems with actions and postures, and you should also bear certain responsibilities for the damage that occurs.
statement
According to Cui Cheng, the Civil Code stipulates that if the infringed is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the liability of the infringer can be reduced.
In practice, the proportion of responsibility sharing is often determined according to the size of the fault of both parties, and the following criteria are mainly used for judging the size of the fault: first, according to the content of attention, to see whether the party has reached the standard of attention, the farther away from the standard of attention, the greater the fault; second, the parties concerned The ability to deal with risks, the stronger the ability, the smaller the duty of care of the security obligor. Just as minors' awareness of risks and ability to resist are significantly weaker than adults, the security obligor should have a strong sense of responsibility for minor players. Higher duty of care.
In this case, the operator of the secret room did not set up sufficient warning signs in the process of falling from a height where there may be a risk of personal injury, and should bear the tort liability.
However, as a person with full capacity for civil conduct, the player chooses a more intense game level when participating in the game, voluntarily puts himself at risk, and should have a higher duty of care for his own safety. The results are related, and players also need to take some responsibility for their own damage.
Case 3
Is the "Disclaimer Agreement" at your own risk, is it legally binding?
Xiao Wang and his friends purchased tickets through mobile phone orders to participate in the in-depth experience story secret room activity operated by Tiantian Company.
Xiao Wang fell and suffered a fracture while playing the slide, and Tiantian Company paid part of the medical expenses for him.
However, Tiantian Company believes that Xiao Wang has signed a disclaimer agreement when purchasing tickets on the platform, promising that he will bear the risk of the game on his own, and that any damage that occurs during the game has nothing to do with Tiantian Company, so Tiantian Company should not be liable for compensation.
After negotiation, the two parties could not reach an agreement on the remaining expenses, and Xiao Wang sued to the court for compensation.
The court held that the parties should fully perform their obligations in accordance with the agreement.
As a consumer, Xiao Wang experiences escape room activities by purchasing tickets and entering the venue, and the two parties establish a service contract relationship.
As an operator, Tiantian Company has the obligation to protect the personal and property safety of consumers in its service premises.
Regarding the exemption clause, it is a standard clause provided by Tiantian Company. The content of the clause exempts its own responsibility and aggravates the other party's responsibility.
Tiantian Company also did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that it has fulfilled the safety instructions, so it should be liable for Xiao Wang's personal injury and property loss.
statement
Cui Cheng said that in practice, many secret room operators will require players to sign a "Disclaimer Agreement" before playing some thrilling and exciting games, and make players promise that if they are injured by NPCs or fall down during the game, they will be injured. Merchant is not liable for compensation.
However, according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, the security obligations of merchants are legal, and players cannot be exempted from the security obligations because they have signed the "Exemption Agreement", and such "Exemption Agreements" are generally made by operators for repeated use. The pre-drawn clauses that were not negotiated with the other party when the contract was concluded belong to the standard clauses stipulated in the Civil Code.
Where a contract is concluded using standard clauses, the party providing the standard clauses shall follow the principle of fairness to determine the rights and obligations between the parties, and take a reasonable approach to remind the other party to pay attention to the exemption or mitigation of its liabilities and other clauses that have a major interest in the other party, according to the other party’s requirements and explain the terms.
According to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, if the party providing the standard terms unreasonably exempts or reduces its liability, aggravates the other party's responsibility, restricts or excludes the other party's main rights, the standard terms are invalid.
The content of the disclaimer agreement signed by Xiao Wang exempts Tiantian Company from the guarantee responsibility, and there is no evidence to prove that Tiantian Company has adopted a reasonable method to remind Xiao Wang of the content of the agreement, so the disclaimer agreement should be invalid.
Case 4
Fractures in the back room game, should the team building company be held responsible?
Xiao Ming participated in the escape room activity organized by the company and was injured in the game and suffered a broken bone.
Xiao Ming believed that the company, as the organizer of the game, should be jointly liable for his injuries together with the operator of the secret room. Therefore, Xiao Ming sued the court and asked the two companies to jointly bear the tort liability.
After trial, the court held that the venue, facilities and equipment provided by the operator of the secret room in the event were dangerous to a certain extent and actually caused Xiao Ming to be injured, so the operator of the secret room should bear all the liability for compensation.
However, at the same time, the company organized employees to participate in entertainment activities. As the organizer of the early stage of the event, it failed to fulfill the necessary audit and safety responsibilities, and should also bear the corresponding supplementary responsibility for Xiaoming's losses.
statement
Cui Cheng explained that the Civil Code stipulates that managers of hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, entertainment venues and other public places or organizers of mass activities who fail to fulfill their security obligations and cause damage to others shall bear tort liability.
If the manager or organizer fails to fulfill the obligation of safety protection, he shall bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities.
As the organizer of the event, the company should have the obligation to ensure the safety of the participants, which also includes the obligation to prevent the participants from being infringed by the safety obligor.
In the above-mentioned cases, the escape room organization failed to fulfill its security obligations and caused the players to be injured and should be liable for compensation. The organizers of the event organized the players to carry out activities, not only strictly controlling the game content, but also strictly evaluating the game risks. Do a good job in safety protection, otherwise, you should bear supplementary responsibility for compensation.
Cui Cheng suggested that the secret room staff should be trained on game procedures and safety matters; comprehensively check the physical environment risk factors in the game activity area, such as dim light, narrow passages, steep stairs and sharp props and other scene arrangements, and Place warning signs or voice prompts and prepare protective equipment in places where danger is likely to occur; during the game, the operator of the secret room should monitor the player's game status, staff conditions and related facilities in the whole process through monitoring facilities, and promptly stop the staff and The player has dangerous actions; if the player is injured in the game, the operator of the secret room should deal with it in a timely and proper manner, and give the injured player corresponding first aid treatment to minimize the player's injury; in addition, the cause of the accident should be discussed and summarized. Continuously improve game links and improve game facilities to ensure players' gaming experience while ensuring safety.
Before the game starts, the staff should introduce the entire game process, inform the players of the risk level, issue the "Entry Instructions" to them, and conduct necessary safety education and risk prevention guidance; Before entering the game items, prompts may occur for dangerous matters, and guide the players to pass the game safely.
For consumers, in practice, many people participate in thriller escape room games in pursuit of novel and exciting experiences, resulting in accidents.
Players should do what they can in the process of playing, consider their own physical condition, disease history and psychological tolerance. Before doing some dangerous actions, they should carefully listen to the safety action guidance to avoid injury. If they cannot continue, they should quit the game in time to avoid danger.
In addition, Cui Cheng pointed out that before organizing players to participate in secret room games, event organizers should be familiar with the complete game process and conduct sufficient research on each link, assess the degree of danger of all facilities in the museum, and fully remind the activities of the game content and risk matters. participants.
At the same time, the appropriate game level should be selected according to the age and physical condition of the participants, and the personal safety and property safety of the participants should be fully guaranteed.
This edition of the article / our reporter Song Xia