Paralyzed elderly man smoking by bedside causes nursing home fire and dies from burns

A 74-year-old man, Chen, who was paralyzed in the lower limbs, suffered severe burns after a fire broke out in his room at a nursing home, leading to his death over a month later. Following the incident, his family sued the Shengzefeng Nursing Home in Chaoyang District. During the trial, the defendant argued that Chen had ignored warnings and smoked in his room, thus should bear responsibility for the fire. The Chaoyang District Court has recently ordered the defendant to compensate the deceased's family over 560,000 yuan.

Case Details: Elderly Man Burned to Death

In August 2007, Chen was sent to the Shengzefeng Nursing Home in Chaoyang District due to his lower limb paralysis. On March 14, 2014, around 3 PM, a fire broke out in Chen's room, resulting in his burns. Staff discovered the fire and rescued Chen, sending him to the hospital for emergency treatment. During this time, the nursing home covered 50,000 yuan in medical expenses. It was diagnosed that Chen had burns covering 45% of his body and suffered from multiple areas of mild inhalation injury. On April 25 of the same year, Chen died from lung infection and respiratory failure.

It is reported that the fire in Chen's room was extinguished by the staff, who cleaned up the fire scene and took the burned mattress outside. After cleaning the fire scene, the nursing home notified the family, who called the police at 11:30 PM that night. Subsequently, the fire department investigated the incident but did not determine the cause of the fire.

Photos taken by the fire department show that the fire primarily occurred near the bedside table, where an ashtray was placed. The items that caught fire were mainly Chen's mattress and bedding, with some smoldering on the wooden bed and bedside table, and the wall near the bed was blackened. Additionally, there were some unopened cigarettes and several lighters in the room.

After failing to negotiate with the nursing home multiple times, Chen's wife and daughter took legal action. They argued that the defendant had failed to fulfill their safety obligations, leading to Chen's fatal burns. Therefore, the defendant should bear compensation responsibilities, and they sued for medical expenses, funeral costs, and compensation for emotional distress totaling over 560,000 yuan.

Defendant: Deceased's Smoking Caused the Fire

The Shengzefeng Nursing Home contended that the fire was not caused by any intentional or negligent act on their part, asserting that they had fulfilled their safety obligations. In this case, the only electrical appliances in Chen's room were a television and a water dispenser, and there were no signs of burning or abnormalities with any electrical devices or outlets. There were no fire-starting or igniting materials added by the defendant in the room.

From the scene, it can be seen that the burned area was small, and it can be accurately determined that the ignition point was near the foot of the bed. Additionally, there were cigarette butts on the bedside table and cigarettes on the shelf, and there were no other people in the room at the time, making it easy to deduce that the fire was caused by Chen. In this case, the defendant bore no fault regarding the cause of the fire and thus should not be liable for any compensation.

Chen's caregiver stated during the fire department's investigation that when the director inspected the room that afternoon, nothing unusual was found. However, later she saw smoke in the corridor and discovered the fire in Chen's room, with a gap of about ten minutes. She mentioned that the elderly man often smoked, and staff had verbally reminded him, with notices posted in the room, but he did not listen. The elderly man lived alone, and there was an emergency call facility in the room, but no one activated it or called for help after the incident.

Court: Defendant Bears Tort Liability

The court held that the defendant, as a legal entity engaged in elderly care services, should exercise a reasonable duty of care for the safety of the residents. If they fail to do so and cause harm to the residents, they should bear corresponding tort liability.

In this case, although the defendant provided some rescue measures after the fire, based on the fire department's investigation and the facts established by the court, it is difficult to determine that the defendant had fully exercised the necessary duty of care regarding fire hazards. Since the defendant destroyed the fire scene and it was also difficult to establish whether they had timely reported the fire, the cause of the fire could not be determined, and thus they should bear corresponding responsibility.

Although Chen had a habit of smoking, due to the defendant's destruction of the accident scene, it was impossible to clarify whether the fire was caused by Chen's smoking, and thus the defendant's defense that the fire was caused by Chen's smoking was not accepted. Chen's injuries from the fire leading to his death indeed caused emotional distress to the plaintiffs, and the court supported this based on the defendant's degree of fault and their actions after the incident.

Ultimately, the court ruled that the defendant should compensate the plaintiffs for medical expenses, funeral costs, death compensation, and emotional distress totaling over 560,000 yuan.

Reported by Beijing Morning Post reporter Yan Fei