A man was walking in his community, looking at his phone, and accidentally stepped off a staircase, resulting in his death. His family sued the property management and the construction company. The court: he is 50% responsible, and the defendants are ordered to pay 480,000 yuan in compensation.

The homeowner fell down the stairs after taking a wrong step and looking down at his phone the whole time while walking on the stairway where construction was taking place in the residential compound. More than half an hour later, he was only discovered and sent to the hospital; in the end, he died despite resuscitation efforts. The grieving family members sued the contractor and the property management company in court. On March 27, the Intermediate People’s Court of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, announced the case, finding that the homeowner himself bore 50% of the responsibility. The property management company was ordered to compensate more than 288,000 yuan, and the contractor was ordered to compensate more than 192,000 yuan.

Homeowner walking while looking at the phone

Fell down the stairs and tragically died

On June 30, 2025, after eating dinner, Xiang [a surname] walked around within the residential compound and, while walking, kept looking at his phone. A few minutes later, he fell down the stairway in the passageway of the residential compound. More than half an hour later, Xiang [a surname] was discovered by other property owners in the compound. The property management company contacted Xiang [a surname]’s family and had him taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. In the early hours of the next day, Xiang [a surname] died due to a head and brain injury, despite attempts at rescue.

At the time of the incident, waterproofing work was being carried out on one side of the exterior wall at that stairway, and scaffolding made of steel pipes had already been set up on site. Xiang [a surname]’s family believed that the actual construction worker, Bie [a surname], and the waterproofing company he was affiliated with, had failed during construction to install fencing to enclose the construction site and set up warning signs. In addition, the lighting at the stairway where the incident occurred was dim. They held these factors to be the main reasons Xiang [a surname] lost his footing and died. Therefore, they sued Bie [a surname], the waterproofing company, and the property management company in court, seeking compensation for all economic losses totaling more than 1.15 million yuan.

The court of first instance found that after Xiang [a surname] fell down the stairs, his head struck the steel pipes. The court held that, while taking a walk, Xiang [a surname] failed to pay attention to the conditions of the surrounding environment of the walking path, and after mistakenly stepping into the gap and falling from the edge stairway, he died; he should bear 40% responsibility. Bie [a surname] and the waterproofing company failed to take safety protection measures for the construction site and failed to set up safety warning signs, so they should jointly bear 40% of the compensation responsibility. The property management company failed to fulfill its safety supervision duties, and thus should bear 20% of the compensation responsibility. After the judgment of the court of first instance, both the original and the defendant parties were dissatisfied and filed an appeal with the Intermediate Court of Zhangjiajie.

Judgment of the court of second instance

The homeowner bears half the responsibility

After trial by the Intermediate People’s Court of Zhangjiajie, it held that Xiang [a surname], as a person with full civil capacity, is the first responsible party for his own right to personal life and safety. He had lived for a long time in the residential compound where the incident occurred, and should therefore be familiar with the facilities and know that there were stair steps at the passageway at the site of the incident and that construction was under way there, with a risk of tripping and falling in that area. However, on the evening of the incident, when he went out, he kept walking while looking at his phone and still did not stop even when he fell down the stairs, showing that he did not fulfill a sufficient duty of care. As a result, he died after mistakenly losing his footing and falling down the stairs; therefore, he should bear 50% responsibility.

As the property management service enterprise for the residential compound, the property management company should promptly inspect and eliminate all kinds of potential safety hazards in the compound. In this case, the property management company neither promptly covered or enclosed the passageway that had long been unused and had a relatively high risk level, nor set up reminder or warning signs in that area. It also did not promptly replace or repair the damaged lighting facilities. It failed to fulfill its duty to provide adequate safety assurance services, and thus should bear 30% of the compensation responsibility.

Regarding the court of first instance’s finding that after Xiang [a surname] fell down the stairs, his head struck the steel pipes, after questioning the doctor who treated Xiang [a surname] and considering the results of the CT scan, the court considered that the fatal injury likely involved contact with a relatively flat, hard, and larger-area surface; therefore, the basis for the court of first instance’s finding that Xiang [a surname] struck the steel pipes with his head after falling down the stairs was insufficient and should be corrected.

Although there is no evidence proving that Xiang [a surname] struck the steel pipes with his head after falling down the stairs, when Bie [a surname] carried out waterproofing construction within the residential community, he did not cover or enclose the construction area in question and did not set up reminder or warning signs. This further exacerbated the already dangerous and complex situation in the stairway area concerned. He also failed to fulfill safety responsibilities for the construction. Therefore, there is also some fault in the occurrence of Xiang [a surname]’s death outcome, and Bie [a surname] should bear 20% of the compensation responsibility. The waterproofing company allowed a natural person, Bie [a surname], without construction qualifications to be affiliated under its name to carry out actual construction, and it should bear joint compensation responsibility with Bie [a surname].

Ultimately, the court of second instance determined that Xiang [a surname]’s family’s total economic losses amounted to more than 960,000 yuan. After subtracting the portion Xiang [a surname] himself bore, the court of second instance changed the judgment and ordered the property management company to compensate Xiang [a surname]’s family 288,000 yuan, and ordered Bie [a surname] and the waterproofing company to compensate 192,000 yuan.

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