Xu Shoulan v. Peng Yu

Uncommon card · No. 194196

Xu Shoulan v. Peng Yu, also referred to as the Peng Yu case or the Nanjing Peng Yu Incident, was a civil lawsuit in the People's Republic of China, brought before the Nanjing District Court in 2007. In 2006, 66-year-old Xu Shoulan fell while at a bus stop, breaking her femur. Peng Yu assisted Xu and brought her to a local hospital for further care. Xu accused Peng of having bumped her while exiting a bus and causing her fall, and demanded that he pay her medical expenses. The court decided in favor of the plaintiff and held Peng liable for damages, and included in its judgement the reasoning that: "no one would in good conscience help someone unless they felt guilty". The verdict received widespread media coverage, and engendered a public outcry against the decision. It is regarded as a landmark case because of its implication that the Chinese public is vulnerable to civil liability for lending help in emergency situations due to the lack of any Good Samaritan laws, and might create a...

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