Passenger Who Fell Due to Sudden Deceleration Without Holding the Handrail Files Billion-Won Lawsuit but Loses Case

Report to YouTube 'HanmuncheolTV'
Passenger fell without holding the handrail
"Injury caused by bus sudden deceleration" lawsuit

A passenger who fell on a bus and claimed to have sustained an injury filed a lawsuit demanding over 200 million won from the Bus Mutual Aid Association. However, in the first trial verdict issued after four years, the court ruled in favor of the bus association.

According to the YouTube channel ‘Han Moon-cheol TV’ on the 30th, an accident occurred inside a bus traveling through Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, in July 2020.

Person A falling down and holding their head. [Image source=Han Moon-cheol TV capture]

Footage from the bus’s internal black box shows passenger A tapping a transportation card on the terminal and then standing while leaning against the bus. One hand held the bus card, and the other held a mobile phone. Then, as the bus slowed down to stop at a bus stop, A suddenly lost balance and fell. The mobile phone A was holding flew far away, and A appeared to have hit their head, covering it with their hand.

Subsequently, A’s side claimed, “The city bus driver abruptly decelerated and abruptly changed lanes to stop at the bus stop, causing the fall and injury.” They further stated, “Due to this accident, A was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), resulting in a permanent disability assessed at 15.5% according to the McBride Disability Evaluation Method.” CRPS, one of the rare and intractable diseases, is a condition where severe pain is felt in an area damaged by trauma or surgery.

Accordingly, A filed a lawsuit against the bus association demanding approximately 250 million won in compensation. This amount corresponds to 80% of the sum of lost income during hospitalization of 2.35 million won, lost income until age 65 of about 85 million won, future medical expenses of 195 million won, and consolation money. In other words, A’s negligence was estimated at 20%.

However, on July 1, the first trial court ruled that the bus association had no money to pay and rather ordered A to return about 11 million won in medical expenses that had been received from the association. The court stated, “In a situation where no unusual movements by other passengers were observed during the bus’s deceleration, it is unreasonable to recognize causality between the bus driver’s actions and A’s injury when A fell after not holding onto the handrails with both hands.”

Moreover, based on the submitted evidence alone, it was difficult to conclude that A’s fall was caused by the bus driver’s abrupt lane change or sudden deceleration. However, according to a tipster from ‘Han Moon-cheol TV,’ A’s side is reportedly appealing the verdict.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.