The typhoon blew up the billboard
I、Who is responsible for the damage caused by the typhoon knocking down the billboard, injuring people and destroying property?
In recent years, strong winds have caused injuries to people and property every year, and many lawsuits have arisen as a result. Although it was caused by wind, in the end it was the owners and managers of the toppled trees or hanging objects who compensated the innocent victims. So who is responsible for the damage caused by the billboard being knocked down by the typhoon, injuring people and destroying property?
Netizen consultation:
A management office installed an advertising board on the outer wall of the building entrance. The board is 1 meter wide, 1.5 meters long and weighs about 8 kilograms. One day, the weather station forecast a typhoon. The city was the expected landing point of the typhoon, and the wind might exceed level 10 and reach a maximum of about level 12. At noon that day, the typhoon made landfall and blew up the publicity board, smashing the glass and windows of the Mercedes-Benz 20 meters away. The repair cost nearly 20,000 yuan, and the property management company was required to compensate. Who is responsible for the damage caused by injuring people or destroying property?
Lawyer Chen Sixin of Jiangsu Dasheng Law Firm answered:
People may mistakenly believe that the damage caused by the typhoon is force majeure, and as a property company, it does not need to bear liability for compensation, or even if it does, it will be a very small liability.
“Force majeure” refers to objective circumstances that cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome.
A general tort consists of four elements: the infringement act, the fact of damage, the causal relationship between the infringement act and the damage fact, and the perpetrator's subjective fault. The principle of fault liability applies to general torts, and fault is its core. If there is no fault, there is no liability law.
Special tort is a concept corresponding to general tort. It refers to a behavioral law in which the actor is forced to bear civil liability according to legal provisions even though he is not at fault.
The typhoon information has been accurately pre dicted in advance. As a professional company, the property management company should foresee the impact of the typhoon landing and do disaster pre vention work in advance. The situation of the billboard being blown up is completely avoidable. Therefore, "force majeure" in this case cannot be a reason for the property company to be exempted from liability.
Lawyer Chen Sixin of Jiangsu Dasheng Law Firm explained:
We also need to clarify the issue of the burden of proof. The burden of proof for general torts is mainly borne by the victim or the claimant for compensation. To obtain compensation, the victim or claimant must prove that the infringer or the person with the obligation to compensate was subjectively at fault. The perpetrator or the person with the obligation to compensate generally does not have the burden of proof. However, in special torts, the victim's burden of proof is greatly reduced. The victim or the claimant for compensation only needs to prove the fact of the damage, causation and other facts required by law, and does not need to prove whether the infringer is at fault. On the contrary, the burden of proof of the victim and the claimant for compensation is reduced, while the burden of proof of the injurer or the person with the obligation to compensate is correspondingly increased. This is what we usually call an inversion of the burden of proof.
As the owner of the advertising board, the property management company neglected to inspect the advertising board, causing two of the four screws that originally fixed the advertising board to become corroded and slippery. Moreover, he did not take any inspections and pre ventive measures when he knew that the typhoon was coming, so he should bear the responsibility.
Lawyer Chen Sixin is good at handling marriage and family disputes, labor injuries, traffic accident compensation, and various contract disputes; he is proficient in criminal defense, real estate, land acquisition and resettlement, damage compensation, and has extensive practice in economic disputes, etc. experience.
Netizen consultation:
A management office installed an advertising board on the outer wall of the building entrance. The board is 1 meter wide, 1.5 meters long and weighs about 8 kilograms. One day, the weather station forecast a typhoon. The city was the expected landing point of the typhoon, and the wind might exceed level 10 and reach a maximum of about level 12. At noon that day, the typhoon made landfall and blew up the publicity board, smashing the glass and windows of the Mercedes-Benz 20 meters away. The repair cost nearly 20,000 yuan, and the property management company was required to compensate. Who is responsible for the damage caused by injuring people or destroying property?
Lawyer Chen Sixin of Jiangsu Dasheng Law Firm answered:
People may mistakenly believe that the damage caused by the typhoon is force majeure, and as a property company, it does not need to bear liability for compensation, or even if it does, it will be a very small liability.
“Force majeure” refers to objective circumstances that cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome.
A general tort consists of four elements: the infringement act, the fact of damage, the causal relationship between the infringement act and the damage fact, and the perpetrator's subjective fault. The principle of fault liability applies to general torts, and fault is its core. If there is no fault, there is no liability law.
Special tort is a concept corresponding to general tort. It refers to a behavioral law in which the actor is forced to bear civil liability according to legal provisions even though he is not at fault.
The typhoon information has been accurately pre dicted in advance. As a professional company, the property management company should foresee the impact of the typhoon landing and do disaster pre vention work in advance. The situation of the billboard being blown up is completely avoidable. Therefore, "force majeure" in this case cannot be a reason for the property company to be exempted from liability.
Lawyer Chen Sixin of Jiangsu Dasheng Law Firm explained:
We also need to clarify the issue of the burden of proof. The burden of proof for general torts is mainly borne by the victim or the claimant for compensation. To obtain compensation, the victim or claimant must prove that the infringer or the person with the obligation to compensate was subjectively at fault. The perpetrator or the person with the obligation to compensate generally does not have the burden of proof. However, in special torts, the victim's burden of proof is greatly reduced. The victim or the claimant for compensation only needs to prove the fact of the damage, causation and other facts required by law, and does not need to prove whether the infringer is at fault. On the contrary, the burden of proof of the victim and the claimant for compensation is reduced, while the burden of proof of the injurer or the person with the obligation to compensate is correspondingly increased. This is what we usually call an inversion of the burden of proof.
As the owner of the advertising board, the property management company neglected to inspect the advertising board, causing two of the four screws that originally fixed the advertising board to become corroded and slippery. Moreover, he did not take any inspections and pre ventive measures when he knew that the typhoon was coming, so he should bear the responsibility.
Lawyer Chen Sixin is good at handling marriage and family disputes, labor injuries, traffic accident compensation, and various contract disputes; he is proficient in criminal defense, real estate, land acquisition and resettlement, damage compensation, and has extensive practice in economic disputes, etc. experience.