Pudong New Area People's Court has ordered a real estate developer to pay 35,900 yuan ($5,755) in compensation to a man who fell into an uncovered manhole in a closed parking garage on its property, the court said Monday.
The plaintiff, surnamed Zhang, parked his car in the underground garage, which the developer had yet to open to residents, around 7 pm on June 12, 2011, according to a press release from the court. As he was leaving, he fell down the uncovered shaft.
The court said that the manhole covers in the garage had been frequently stolen since its construction was finished in December 2009.
A passerby surnamed Fan told the court that she saw Zhang trying to get out of the manhole while she was on her way to a nearby shopping plaza, according to the press release.
Zhang was taken to the hospital, where doctors found he had fractured a bone in his left knee. He later sued the developer for 120,000 yuan. In his complaint, Zhang accused the developer of failing to make sure that the garage was safe.
Although the court acknowledged that Zhang should not have parked in the garage, it ruled that the developer failed to foresee the safety hazards of leaving the garage unattended.
The court determined that the developer should have either closed the garage or hired security guards to prevent drivers from entering. It ordered the developer to pay 30 percent of Zhang's medical bills.
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