CCTV News (Reporter/Yang Wei):In recent years, with the increasing number of electric vehicles purchased, the fire and explosion accidents of electric vehicles have also shown an increasing trend. According to statistics, in 2022, the national fire rescue team received a total of 18,000 electric bicycle fires and 3,242 fires caused by battery failure in residential places, which was higher than that in 2021. Behind the frequent explosion accidents of electric vehicles, we need to pay attention not only to how to pursue responsibility, but also to how to effectively solve the residents’ demands for charging difficulties. In this regard, Lu Jing, a lawyer from Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, answered the relevant questions of CCTV News+reporters.
"News+"reporter: What are the responsible subjects in the battery explosion of electric vehicles?
Lu Jing:The relevant responsible subjects to be investigated for the battery explosion of electric vehicles may include the owners or users of electric vehicles, the producers and sellers of electric vehicles and batteries, the corresponding house owners or related property managers, etc. These subjects may bear the corresponding tort liability.
"News+"reporter: Do electric vehicle manufacturers and battery manufacturers need to take responsibility?
Lu Jing:According to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), if a product is defective and causes damage to others, the producer shall bear the tort liability, and the infringed may claim compensation from both the producer and the seller of the product. Therefore, product liability belongs to a special tort liability. No matter whether the producer or seller is at fault or not, as long as it meets the constitutive requirements of product liability, it should bear tort liability.
In the distribution of burden of proof, producers and sellers should bear the corresponding burden of proof on whether there are defects in products and whether there is no causal relationship between defects and damage results. If neither the producer nor the seller can prove it, they should bear the corresponding tort liability.
"News+"reporter: Who is liable for the battery explosion of electric vehicles?
Lu Jing:If it is determined that the owners of electric vehicles, producers and sellers of electric vehicles and batteries should bear the tort liability, they should jointly bear the compensation liability for the victims and allocate different compensation ratios according to the corresponding faults.
At the same time, we should also pay attention to whether the house owner or property manager has fulfilled the relevant management obligations on the house and property situation, and if they are at fault, they should also bear corresponding responsibilities. For example, whether to fulfill the corresponding obligation of reminding and discouraging the illegal charging of electric vehicles, whether the fire-fighting facilities in the community are complete, whether the fire-fighting passages are smooth, and whether to fulfill the management obligations for the orderly parking of vehicles in the community. If the house owner or property manager fails to fulfill the corresponding security obligations, he will bear the corresponding supplementary responsibilities.
"News+"reporter: What are the expenses that the parties can claim for compensation?
Lu Jing:According to the provisions of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), if personal injury is caused by infringement on others, you can claim compensation for medical expenses, nursing expenses, transportation expenses, nutrition expenses, food subsidies for hospitalization and some reasonable expenses for treatment and rehabilitation, including income reduced due to absenteeism.
If it causes disability, it is also necessary to compensate for the corresponding assistive devices and disability compensation; If death is caused, funeral expenses and death compensation shall also be compensated; If property losses are caused by infringement on the personal rights and interests of others, compensation should be made according to the losses suffered by the infringed or the benefits gained by the infringer, generally according to the actual losses of the infringer. When the actual loss is difficult to prove, the people’s court may also determine the amount of compensation as appropriate according to the actual situation.
In addition, if the victim suffers from personal injury, resulting in lifelong disability, or something special that has personal significance to the victim is damaged in an explosion fire, which causes the victim to suffer serious mental damage, according to the provisions of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), the infringed person has the right to claim compensation for mental damage.
"News+"reporter: How to effectively solve the problem of difficult charging of electric vehicles?
Lu Jing:Since August 2021, the State has officially implemented the Regulations on Fire Safety Management of High-rise Civil Buildings, in which it is explicitly prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles in public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells and emergency exits of high-rise civil buildings. The regulations also make it clear that those who violate these regulations can be fined. In addition, the regulations also encourage setting up places for centralized storage and charging of electric bicycles in high-rise residential quarters, and such places should also keep a safe distance from civil buildings and be separated by fire.
Therefore, property companies and housing management units should not only strengthen publicity, but also add enough charging sockets for electric vehicles according to the actual situation of the community, improve fire-fighting facilities and technical means in the charging area, and strengthen management and maintenance.
Secondly, we should also pay attention to strengthening personnel patrol. Conduct regular inspections on the parking specifications of vehicles in the parking area, the confirmation of the charging state of electric bicycles and the sound use of fire-fighting facilities. Finally, some related technical measures can be used for management, such as elevator car stoppers installed in many communities, which can prevent electric vehicles from entering the elevator; Install an automatic power-off device for overload charging in the charging area, so that when overload charging occurs, the device can find out in time and automatically power off to implement protection.
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