[2] Illegal subcontracting leads to accident; lawyer strives for lighter sentence

[6] In November 2012, Shenzhen Chenghan Construction Company subcontracted the labor for the Banshanhai Garden construction project in Longgang, Shenzhen, to Zhejiang Pengzhou Construction Company. However, Pengzhou later privately subcontracted the formwork production and installation to Chen’s construction team. During the work, carpenter Li from the team accidentally fell from a building, resulting in a level 10 minor injury disability. After the incident, Li hired a lawyer to sue Pengzhou Company and subcontractor Chen in court, demanding payment for medical expenses, nursing fees, lost wages, disability compensation, and disability assessment fees, totaling 90,000 yuan. Pengzhou Company entrusted the legal team led by Lawyer Wang Tengfeng from Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm to appear in court, with team lawyer Zhang Qingping and trainee lawyer Ye Huijuan handling the case.

Since Pengzhou Company's illegal subcontracting of the project to Chen, a contractor without operational qualifications, was clearly established, Pengzhou Company was placed in an extremely unfavorable litigation position from the outset. However, after consulting with lead attorney Wang Tengfeng, attorney Zhang Qingping believed that Chen, as the actual construction contractor, bore direct fault in the personal injury incident involving carpenter Li and should assume primary responsibility. First, Pengzhou Company had no labor relationship with Li. This case involves a dispute over liability for damages suffered by a service provider. Chen, as the direct responsible party for Li's construction team, should bear primary responsibility for Li's injuries and for faults such as failing to sign a labor contract with Li or purchase social insurance.

Second, Li's attorney calculated Li's disability compensation at nearly 60,000 yuan, which was clearly excessive. According to the statutory standard of 11,699.31 yuan for rural residents' net income in Guangdong Province in 2013, and considering that Li's disability was classified as Grade 10—the mildest level in the disability grading—Li's disability compensation should be 23,000 yuan.

After the court trial, the attorneys for the four parties, despite repeated debates, were unable to reach a settlement agreement on compensation for Li's damages. Ultimately, the People's Court largely adopted attorney Zhang Qingping's representation opinion, ruling that contractor Chen should compensate Li 23,000 yuan for disability compensation, along with other medical expenses, nursing fees, lost wages, and disability appraisal fees, totaling 55,000 yuan. Pengzhou Company was ordered to bear joint liability, and Li's other claims were dismissed.