Can Injury on Subordinate Helper be Taken as Work-related?

Nutshell

On August 30, 2015, Mr Ren drove SH D0XXXX/SH KFXXX registered heavy container semitrailer from Wuxi to Humen and Shengzheng for a Shanghai logistic company. At 15:47 p.m. when passing Xiarong Highway 341KM+295M (within Yudu county, Jiangsu Province), the car crashed on the isolation strip in the middle of the highway and rolled over, causing the instant death of Mr Ren. The local transportation police department handled this accident. Confirmed by the hospital, Mr Ren died on August 30^th, 2015 of car crash.

Mr Han affiliated the H D0XXXX/SH KFXXX registered heavy container semitrailer under the name of Shanghai logistic company to run its business of the line of Wuxi-Humen-Shengzheng, the dead was the driver of this car.

On December 17^th, 2015, Ren’s family applied work-related injury to the Human Resource and Social Insurance Bureau where the logistic company located. The bureau accepted the application on January 25^th, 2016 and after collecting evidence, the incident was taken as work-related injury, thus the confirmation letter was issued on March 21^st, 2016.

The logistics company challenged the confirmation letter and brought up an administrative suit to revoke it.

 

Issue

The issue of this case is Mr Han operate the car under the name of the logistics company to hire Mr Ren as the driver. Shall this kind of injury be taken as work-related and the logistics company be liable?

The logistic company holds that Mr Ren was not an employee and Mr Han and his hired help is not in the control of the company. There was not any wage granted nor a labor relation in between, therefore the death shall not be considered as employment injury and Mr Han shall be liable for it.

The district human resource and social insurance bureau holds firstly, the fact exist that around 15:47 p.m. August 30, 2015, Mr Ren drove SH D0XXXX/SH KFXXX registered heavy container semitrailer and crashed on the isolation strip in the middle of the highway and rolled over, causing the instant death. Secondly, on August 30, 2015, Mr Ren drove SH D0XXXX/SH KFXXX registered heavy container semitrailer from Wuxi to Humen and Shengzheng, which is work time and work content. The accident place was along the way, which is work place. Thirdly, Mr Han operated the SH D0XXXX/SH KFXXX heavy container semitrailer under the name of the logistic company causing the death of the driver, in line with Art 3-5 in the Provisions on Employment Injury Insurance Administrative Case by Supreme Cou that personal operation subordinate to a unit cause injury or death of the employer, the unit is liable for the work-related injury insurance liability.

Ren’s family holds the same opinion.

 

Judgment

The court ruled that the fact found by the district human resource and social insurance bureau constituted the work-related injury of Mr Ren, the claim is denied.

 

Comment by Lawyer Tang

This is a relatively special work-related injury administrative case.

Maybe the question would be raised why in this case the injury is taken work-related and the liable party is the logistic company? In usual employment injury cases, the deciding department would first require labor contract or other materials to prove labor relation, but that is not required in this case and the department did not decide the labor relation between the dead and the logistic company.

As to this kind of situation, the Provisions on Employment Injury Insurance Administrative Case by Supreme Court issued on Sept 1, 2014 provides explicitly that personal operation subordinate to a unit cause injury or death of the employer, the unit is liable for the work-related injury insurance liability. Therefore Mr Ren death is taken as work-related injury and the liable entity is the logistic company. The basis for the Supreme Court to include the above situation into employment injury is the illegal subcontract of subordinate operation. Many subcontract or subordinate operators don’t meet the requirements of the employer definite in the Labor Contract Law, causing the damage of the employees. And in the mean time it is aiming at the reasonable liability allocation between employers or employers and other liable entity.

Therefore the decision of the district human resource and social insurance is right. And the logistic company can surely claim from the employer Mr Han for the employment injury liability afterwards.