The picture shows that the presiding judge of this case is in court.
guide reading
With the increasing admiration of the public for the concept of healthy living, yoga has gradually become a popular choice for the masses to keep fit. However, seemingly simple yoga exercise may also suffer sports injuries and lead to disputes. Recently, the People’s Court of Jinan District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province concluded a case of tort liability dispute caused by yoga injury. After hearing the case, the court held that the yoga studio, as an institution specializing in training and teaching services, failed to fulfill its sufficient security obligations and should bear the main responsibility of this case. At the same time, the customer, as a person with full capacity for civil conduct, should be aware of the related risks of practicing yoga, but he continues to practice after feeling unwell, and there is also fault in the occurrence of damage results, so the responsibility of the yoga studio can be appropriately reduced. While fully safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the judgment of this case also reflects that the people’s court fully applies the concept of active justice to civil trial work, effectively exerts the rule-leading and value-oriented functions of judicial judgment, and plays a positive role in the standardized governance of service industries such as sports and fitness.
Fitness is risky and exercise needs to be moderate.
On December 10, 2021, Duan paid 3380 yuan to a yoga studio through WeChat and became an annual card member of the yoga studio. The next day, Duan transferred 5719 yuan to the yoga studio to buy a personal trainer course package. During the period from December 11th, 2021 to January 22nd, 2022, Duan frequently made an appointment with the yoga instructor Li in the yoga studio through WeChat and did yoga exercises.
In early January, 2022, Duan felt discomfort in his left hip after attending a private yoga class, and told his coach Li. After listening, Li said that this is a subluxation strain of the femoral head after normal exercise, so let Duan continue to do some rehabilitation and relaxation training in the yoga studio. Duan, out of trust in the coach, continued to go to the yoga studio for classes.
The injury becomes more serious, and fitness hurts the body.
On January 20, 2022, Duan went to the hospital for examination because of unbearable pain. The X-ray diagnosis report showed that Duan had degenerative changes in his left hip joint. On the 23 rd of the same month, Duan went to the orthopedic hospital for magnetic resonance examination, and the imaging diagnosis was: a small amount of effusion in the left hip joint space.
From March to May, 2022, Duan’s symptoms have not been alleviated, and he went to the hospital for examination and treatment many times. He was also hospitalized at the end of April and discharged on May 18th. The diagnosis conclusions given by the hospital are as follows: 1. Hip joint disease (left hip arthritis) edema (mild bone marrow edema in the left acetabulum and mild bone marrow edema in the upper femur of the left femur); 2. Abnormal findings of diagnostic imaging examination in other parts of musculoskeletal system (mild degeneration of pelvis), etc.
After leaving the hospital, Duan found a yoga studio to find a solution.
The negotiation ended in vain, and the judge was asked to judge.
Since then, Duan and coach Li have repeatedly communicated and negotiated related compensation matters, but the two sides have never reached an agreement, so Duan sued the yoga studio and Li to the court. The defendant argued in the lawsuit that Duan confirmed in the WeChat chat with Li that the range of yoga movements taught by Li was very small, and the teaching intensity was low, and Li only demonstrated the movements and told the essentials of the movements, and Duan stretched himself, so Li did not press Duan’s body, so there was no fault in Li’s yoga teaching, and Duan’s injury was not caused by Li, so the defendant should not bear the responsibility.
In addition, as a sport, yoga practitioners should practice in a step-by-step manner according to the flexibility of their ligaments and the strength of bone structure. Duan, as a practitioner, should fully understand the dangers of practicing yoga. He is eager to achieve success and frequently asks for classes at his own risk, so his injury result is caused by his improper practice. According to the law, if the victim intentionally or neglects the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the liability of the compensation obligor may be reduced or exempted.
There is a causal relationship after two appraisals.
In June, 2022, Duan entrusted a judicial appraisal institute for appraisal, and the appraisal opinions issued by the judicial appraisal institute were as follows: 1. There is a causal relationship between the consequences of Duan’s current left hip injury and the injury caused by practicing yoga in the yoga studio on December 29, 2021; 2. Duan’s delayed construction period is evaluated as 120 days, the nursing period is evaluated as 90 days, and the nutritional period is evaluated as 60 days.
During the litigation, according to the application of the yoga studio, the court entrusted another judicial appraisal institute to re-evaluate whether there is a causal relationship between Duan’s left hip injury and yoga practice, as well as the missed construction period, nursing period and nutrition period. The opinions of the judicial appraisal opinion issued by the judicial appraisal institute on October 14, 2022 are as follows: 1. There is a complete causal relationship between Duan’s practice of yoga in a yoga studio and his left hip injury; 2. Duan’s delayed construction period is 120 days, the nursing period is 90 days, and the nutrition period is 60 days.
Both parties are at fault and bear primary and secondary responsibilities.
Based on the facts of the case and relevant evidence, the court held that citizens have the right to life and health, and the actor should bear tort liability for infringing upon the civil rights and interests of others due to his fault. Duan’s left hip injury has a complete causal relationship with the yoga exercise directed by Li, as evidenced by the appraisal opinions issued by two appraisal institutes.
As an institution specializing in yoga training and teaching services, the yoga studio should provide students with a safe fitness environment and professional fitness services. It failed to fulfill its sufficient security obligations, resulting in Duan’s injury, and continued to arrange Duan to do yoga exercises after Duan told him that his left hip was unwell. It was at fault for Duan’s injury and should bear the main responsibility of this case.
As a person with full capacity for civil conduct, Duan should be aware of the risks associated with practicing yoga, have a considerable sense of self-protection, and have a full understanding of his physical condition and endurance. However, after feeling the discomfort of the left hip joint, Duan did not choose to see a doctor in time, took the initiative to stop training, and continued to carry out yoga training. He himself was also at fault for the occurrence of the damage result, which can appropriately reduce the liability for compensation of the yoga studio. Li is a yoga instructor in the yoga studio, and Duan was injured in yoga teaching, so his employer yoga studio should bear the liability for compensation.
In the end, combined with the actual situation of the case and the degree of fault of both parties, the court ruled that the yoga studio should bear 70% of the liability for compensation, and Duan should bear 30% of the liability himself.
After the judgment, neither party appealed, and the judgment has taken legal effect.
■ referee analysis
The combination of fault liability principle and fault offset system
Natural person’s right to health and body should be protected by law. When engaging in social activities, all civil subjects should fulfill the necessary duty of care, respect the rights and interests of others, and avoid causing damage to the rights and interests of others. Any act that causes damage to the rights and interests of others due to negligence or neglect shall bear the corresponding liability for damages. Article 165 of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC) clarifies that the principle of general tort liability is the principle of fault liability, that is, unless there are special provisions in the law, generally speaking, the civil subject should bear the liability for damages only when the civil rights and interests of others are infringed by fault (intentionally or negligently); If there is no fault, it is not responsible.
It is worth noting that Article 173 of the Civil Code states that when the victim is at fault for the occurrence of damage or the expansion of the damage result, the liability of the compensation obligor for damages shall be reduced or exempted according to law, that is, the fault shall be offset. As an important system of damage compensation, the effect of the principle of negligence offset is reflected in three levels: first, for the infringer, the effect of the principle of negligence offset is reflected in the reduction or exemption of his liability for damage compensation. Second, for the infringed, it is reflected in the fact that his claim for damages is restricted in entity, and he has lost part or all of his claim for damages. Third, for the court as a referee, it is reflected that the judge should distribute the damage results fairly among the parties according to specific standards and determine the responsibility. Negligence offset, in essence, is to consider the faults of the offender and the victim to determine the primary and secondary responsibilities, rather than offset each other.
Returning to this case is essentially a combination of the principle of fault liability and the system of fault offset. First of all, institutions engaged in yoga training and teaching services should provide students with a safe fitness environment and professional fitness guidance services, and do their best to ensure safety within reasonable limits. Yoga is a dangerous sport. In the process of practice, the staff of the yoga studio should guide the students to complete the corresponding actions according to the intensity suitable for their own foundation, and give necessary safety tips. In the case of knowing that the students are unwell due to the practice actions, they should not continue to arrange yoga exercises, which will aggravate the injuries of the students. Therefore, the principle of fault liability applies and the yoga studio bears the main responsibility. Secondly, students, as adults with full capacity for civil conduct, should also know the related risks of practicing yoga, have a considerable sense of self-protection, avoid causing self-harm in yoga exercise, and should also bear part of the responsibility for the expansion of the damage results.
At the same time, the principle of negligence offset has its subject scope of application. If the victim is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the damage, it should be applied to reduce the compensation liability of the offender. There should be no objection. It is worth noting that in judicial practice, when a third person who has a specific relationship with the victim has the following circumstances and is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of damage, the principle of negligence offset may still be applied:
(1) Legal representative
The legal representative is the guardian of a person without or with limited capacity for civil conduct, and has the legal obligation to supervise, protect and take care of the person without or with limited capacity for civil conduct. If the legal representative neglects to perform his guardianship duties, resulting in damage to the ward, based on the guardianship relationship between the legal representative and the victim, the principle of negligence should be applied to reduce the liability of the offender.
(2) Staff
If a staff member causes property losses to the employer due to the infringement of others in the course of performing his duties, if the staff member is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the damage, his fault is regarded as the fault of the employer, and the fault can be applied to offset and reduce the compensation liability of the infringer.
■ Expert comments
Strengthen the supervision of fitness practitioners and operators.
Ding Zhaozeng, Associate Professor of Fujian Normal University Law School
The verdict of this case conforms to the provisions of Article 165 of the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC), "If the actor infringes upon the civil rights and interests of others due to his fault, he shall bear the tort liability" and Article 173, "If the infringed is at fault for the occurrence or expansion of the same damage, the liability of the infringer may be reduced".
On the one hand, in the fitness and yoga courses, the service contract relationship is formed between the members and the yoga institutions, and the instructors need to formulate targeted courses according to the students’ physical conditions and fitness goals, and provide professional guidance during the practice. If the members’ sports are injured due to the coach’s mistakes, the coach and the organization may have to bear the corresponding tort liability.
On the other hand, gymnasiums, yoga studios and other institutions should fulfill their security obligations to members, create a good and safe fitness environment, ensure the safety of supporting service facilities in business and management places and the qualification compliance of coaches, so as to effectively protect the personal and property safety of members. However, the security obligations of gymnasiums, yoga rooms and other institutions are not infinitely expanded. If a member is a person with full capacity for civil conduct, he should have a reasonable understanding of his own health, and should also have a sense of safety and self-protection about the exercise environment and sports equipment. Members should arrange exercises scientifically and reasonably according to their own physical conditions to achieve the purpose of safe and healthy exercise. If members fail to fulfill their duty of care, they should bear certain responsibilities for the consequences of their own damage.
This case also reflects that the current fitness and yoga consumer markets need to be standardized. On the one hand, the entry threshold for fitness and yoga coaches should be improved, and the skills training and quality education for coaches should be strengthened. Coaches should hold certificates, and coaches engaged in fitness and yoga should hold China Fitness Yoga Grade Certificate. On the other hand, we should strengthen the standardized and legal management of gymnasiums and yoga studios. As soon as possible, formulate and improve the unified standards of fitness, yoga training, grade evaluation and other aspects, so that fitness and yoga training have rules to follow and rules to follow. In addition, it is also necessary to clarify the supervision departments of the fitness and yoga industries, strengthen the supervision of practitioners and operating venues, rectify and clean up the fitness and yoga venues with irregular operation in time, and standardize the industry order.
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