Injured Canadian wins case against truck driver

A 41-year-old Canadian moped rider has won almost 200,000 yuan ($31,700), nearly three years after being injured in a road accident caused by a truck driver's illegal driving, according to a ruling made by Jing'an District People's Court.

The man, whose name was not released, sued the truck driver's company and its insurance company in 2010, after failing to negotiate a compensation package of some 223,000 yuan.

The Canadian had asked the companies to cover his medical fees and his transportation costs for treatment at a hospital in Hong Kong, as well as compensate him for the time off work he needed to recover from the shoulder injury he suffered in the accident.

Local traffic police had confirmed that the truck driver was fully responsible for the accident on Fengxian Road in late 2009. The Canadian had fallen off his moped after breaking suddenly to avoid colliding with the truck driver, who had been traveling in the wrong direction along the one-way street, said police.

But, the driver argued that the Canadian's injury was not his fault since he never crashed into him. The court, however, ruled that the man was only hurt because of the truck driver's illegal actions.

The insurance company of the driver's company, meanwhile, said it was not obliged to cover the man's medical expenses from Hong Kong, saying that he could have been treated in Shanghai.

But, the Canadian, who was first treated at two local hospitals before undergoing surgery and rehabilitation in Hong Kong, was entitled to treatment wherever he wanted, so long as the center was not selected for the purpose of increasing medical expenses, the court said.

In his case, the Hong Kong hospital sought by the man was charging less for the same treatment being offered at Shanghai hospitals, according to the court's press officer, Li Hongguang.

The Canadian, however, was obligated to look after his own transportation expenses to Hong Kong, as it was his decision to seek treatment outside Shanghai, the court judgement said.