Delivery rider dies suddenly while delivering food, family receives million-yuan compensation

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
The Beijing Chaoyang Court recently held a public first-instance hearing and delivered a verdict in a case involving a dispute over the right to life arising from the sudden death of a food delivery rider while delivering an order late at night. After trial, the court held that in this incident, both the food delivery platform and the employing company were at fault, and ultimately sentenced the food delivery platform and the employing company in the first instance to pay a total of more than 1.5 million yuan in compensation to Liu Moumou’s family.

 
 

Case review
Delivery rider Liu sustained a sudden illness and died while delivering food. The family believed that the food delivery platform failed to fulfill its necessary duty to provide assistance, and therefore sued the food delivery platform in court. Ultimately, the court determined that Liu himself bore 10% of the liability, the platform operator company bore 20% of the liability, and a certain information technology company bore 70% of the liability.

 
 

It is understood that, including the accidental insurance payout of 600,000 yuan, the deceased's family received a total of 2.17 million yuan in compensation.
 
The Chaoyang District Court held after trial that the platform operator company signed an "Outsourcing Service Cooperation Agreement" with a certain information technology company. According to the agreement, the labor personnel responsible for food delivery were provided by the information technology company, which, as the management entity of the delivery personnel, provided job training, paid relevant taxes and fees for the delivery personnel as required by law, and fully paid their remuneration as agreed. Although the contract signed between the information technology company and Liu Moumou was named a cooperation agreement, in reality, the legal relationship between the information technology company and Liu Moumou met the characteristics of an employment relationship. Therefore, as Liu Moumou's employer, the information technology company should actively fulfill its responsibilities as the employing entity.
 
In this case, Liu Moumou worked during the early morning hours and simultaneously delivered multiple orders. As the employing company, there were deficiencies in labor protection measures regarding the allocation of delivery workload, detection and follow-up handling of abnormal delivery situations, and the monitoring and timely rescue of delivery personnel during abnormal circumstances. Liu Moumou's illness and death during the delivery process were directly and intrinsically linked to his labor activities. Therefore, the information technology company should bear primary responsibility for this.
 
 
The [1] The People's Republic of China Civil Code
Article 1002: Natural persons have the right to life. The safety and dignity of a natural person's life are protected by law. No organization or individual may infringe upon another's right to life.
 
 
"Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance of the People's Republic of China"
Article 15: In any of the following circumstances, an employee shall be deemed to have suffered a work-related injury:
(1) Death resulting from a sudden illness at work during working hours, or death within 48 hours after rescue attempts prove ineffective;
(2) injured while participating in emergency rescue and disaster relief, or other activities to safeguard national or public interests;
(3) Workers who previously served in the military, were injured or disabled due to war or duty, have obtained a revolutionary disabled soldier certificate, and suffer a recurrence of the old injury after joining the employer.
If an employee falls under the circumstances specified in Item (1) or Item (2) of the preceding paragraph, he or she shall enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Regulations; if an employee falls under the circumstances specified in Item (3) of the preceding paragraph, he or she shall enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits other than the one-time disability subsidy in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Regulations.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
In recent years, accidents involving food delivery riders due to high-intensity work have occurred frequently. Full-time platform delivery riders are a profession that has emerged only in recent years. Due to the existence of platforms and outsourcing companies, the identification of labor or employment relationships for delivery riders differs from traditional industries, making compensation issues after accidents a frequent topic of public debate.
 
In reality, many employers, to evade legal liability, often sign contracts with employees under titles such as "Cooperation Agreement." In this case, the court determined, based on actual working hours, content, and location, that the relationship between the parties was not an equal cooperative one but an employment relationship with subordinate characteristics, thereby establishing the relevant responsibilities of the platform and outsourcing company. This shows that for delivery riders, it is essential to carefully review contract terms when signing, monitor their physical condition during daily work, and arrange working hours reasonably; for delivery platforms, they must select qualified and diligent outsourcing companies; for outsourcing companies, they should improve corporate management systems, establish emergency rescue mechanisms, and effectively safeguard employees' physical and mental health.