A local retired woman won 100,000 yuan ($15,873) in compensation Thursday in Jing'an District People's Court after she hurt her back during a day trip last year.
The case illustrates the sharp increase in personal injury lawsuits that senior citizens have filed in recent years as they acquire more personal wealth and become more familiar with the legal system.
The number of personal injury lawsuits involving seniors jumped 84 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to Yao Xiaojing, the judge who presided over Thursday's case.
Rising pensions have allowed elderly residents to spend more on travel and nursing home care, which has put them in more situations where they are at risk of suffering an injury, Yao said. She also pinned the increase in cases on seniors' growing knowledge of their legal rights.
Xu Wenhua, 60, filed a 137,000 yuan lawsuit last year against Shanghai Chayiyuan International Travel Agency and the company it hired to provide transportation after she joined a one-day trip to Yuyao, Zhejiang Province.
Xu set out for Yuyao with 12 other sightseers on March 8, 2011. Around 3 pm, their tour bus hit a pothole, causing it to lurch and throw Xu to the floor. The other passengers helped her up and had her lie down on the seat.
After the bus returned to Shanghai, Xu went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a lumbar fracture. She spent 6,100 yuan on medical expenses and several months recovering.
An expert testified that Xu permanently lost 10 percent to 25 percent of the motor function in the area around her waist due to the injury.
The court also considered a report from Yuyao traffic police that determined the driver of the tour bus bore full responsibility for Xu's injury.
The court sided with Xu, but ruled that the compensation should be more in line with the average local standard of living.
It ordered the transportation company to transfer the money to Xu within 10 days of the verdict.
The travel agency was not found to have any liability in the case.
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