(Abstract)Both to Blame, the Liability for Personal Injury shall be Assumed on a Joint and Several Basis
[Case Brief] The defendant, He Yu Ren Fishery Cooperatives, is the owner of the ship "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yuan 03333", and the defendant, Sun, is the owner and captain of the ship "Shen Yu Ji 223". At 10:00 am, February 28, 2013, the plaintiff, Zhuang and other 4 crew members took on lease of the "Shen Yu Ji 223" driven by Sun for transportation of materials. Around 10:50, after finding "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yun 03333" coming from the back, only 10 meters away from "Shen Yu Ji 223", Zhuang shouted "there is a ship behind us", with other people on board giving a hint to "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yun 03333". However, "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yun 03333" took no measures and kept sailing at the original speed. After hearing the cry, Sun looked back to observe what happened, and immediately shifted the helm to make the stern of "Shen Yu Ji 223" to slightly shift left, however, the left side of the stern was hit by "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yun 03333", with 6 people falling into the water immediately after the boat capsized. Zhuang was sent to hospital for treatment and diagnosed with his right leg twisted from a rolling injury and traumatic amputation which constituted a sixth level of disability. Two other crew members on "Shen Yu Ji 223" who fell into the water died. On March 4, 2013, the survey report issued by the Fishing Port Supervision Station in Putuo District determined that the ship of "Zhejiang Dai Yu Yun 03333" shall be primarily responsible for the incident, and "Shen Yu Ji 223" shall be secondarily responsible therefor. After hearing the case, the Court held that the collision between the two ships resulted by contributory negligence, the ship owners He Yu Ren Fishery Cooperatives and Sun shall be jointly and severally liable for the losses sustained by Zhuang.
[Typical Significance] Paragraph 3, Article 169 of the Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China provides that "If both the colliding ship and the collided ship are in fault, each ship shall be jointly and severally liable for loss of life or of personal injury to a third party. If a ship has paid an amount of compensation in excess of the proportion prescribed in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall have the right of recourse against the other ship(s) at fault.” The plaintiff in this case suffered personal injury during his ride of the ship "Shen Yu Ji 223", which collided with the ship "Zhe Dai Yu Yun 03333". Unless one of the ships is at no fault in the collision accident, the owners of the two ships shall bear joint and several liability for the losses to the plaintiff.