'Good Samaritan' in Jiangsu held responsible for accident
Staff Reporter 2012-09-22 11:10
A driver in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu says she came to the assistance of a 72-year-old woman who fell from a bicycle but was later made to pay 60% of the cyclist's medical expenses, reports the state-run China News Service.
On Sept. 18, the cyclist, Jiao Baodi, was following a car driven by Zhang Hongxin and fell to the ground as she made a right term, the driver says. Zhang says she saw Jiao's fall in her rear-view mirror and immediately stopped the car to help her.
Zhang called the police and an ambulance to take Jiao to hospital. Jiao's condition is said to be stable but she has remained in a coma since the fall. Jiao's family wanted Zhang to pay Jiao's medical expenses of more than 170,000 yuan (US$27,000), but Zhang insisted she did not hit Jiao but came to her assistance voluntarily.
The police said there was no evidence that Zhang hit the cyclist based on the appearance of her car, but they did not exclude the possibility that Jiao tried to swerve if Zhang made a sudden right turn, which could have led to her fall.
After Jiao's family filed a lawsuit against Zhang, the local court ruled that Zhang was responsible for Jiao's accident. Zhang has to pay 60% of the medical expenses (US$16,000), with the rest to be paid by Jiao's family.
Regardless of the facts in this particular incident, the case is set to stand as another example in support of the belief widely held in China that it is unwise to offer help in an emergency, as to do so brings the risk of being blamed for causing the situation.
