If a passenger gets up early when the bus is coming to a stop and falls and is injured, who is responsible?
The Supreme Court has ruled that the bus company should be held responsible.
In 2017, city bus passenger A got up to prepare to get off, and while carrying his bag, he fell backward and twisted his back due to the backlash of the bus that was stopped.
The total treatment cost was about 1.13 million won, of which 970,000 won was paid by the Health Insurance Corporation.
Afterwards, the NHIS filed a lawsuit claiming that it was the bus driver's negligence for failing to fulfill his duty of care and compensating the bus company and the National Bus Transportation Association for 970,000 won.
However, both the 1st and 2nd trial courts dismissed both claims.
The intention was that the bus driver was not at fault because the accident occurred while the passenger got up from their seat before the bus stopped and was carrying the bag without holding the handle.
But the Supreme Court decided otherwise.
According to the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act, the driver is liable for damages unless the passenger is intentionally injured while driving the vehicle.
Based on this, the court dismissed the case and remanded the case, saying, "It is not enough to prove that the accident was due to Mr.