Family seeks recompense for death

A family in Shanghai is seeking 720,000 yuan ($115,128) in compensation from the local metro operator for the death of a relative who slipped in the Jinjiang Park Station of metro Line 1, family members said Thursday.

The relative, a 55-year-old woman, slipped and hit her head around 8:30 am on November 22 as she nearly finished descending the stairs to an underground passageway in the station, according to a report in the Oriental Morning Post. She was on her way to her job at a restaurant near People's Square.

It had been raining and the floor of the passageway was wet, but there were no signs warning passersby that the floor was slippery, a witness surnamed Kuang told the Oriental Morning Post.

The woman lost consciousness after she fell. She was later sent to the hospital after police were called, the report said.

"The police asked the metro operator to have someone accompany my mother to the hospital, but all of the employees said they were too busy," the woman's son, surnamed Huang, told the Global Times.

Although the woman received treatment at the hospital, she died on November 25, Huang said.

The woman had been healthy at the time of the accident, her sister-in-law, surnamed Huang, told the Global Times.

Her death certificate stated that she died from a head injury that resulted from a fall.

The family contacted Shanghai Shentong Metro Group on November 26, but the subway operator said it was not liable for death, the son said. It said it would respond to the family next Thursday.

Huang said the family will sue the company if it refuses to take responsibility for his mother's death.

An employee surnamed Dai with Shanghai Shentong's Security Department said the case is still under investigation.

"We will take measures to enhance safety at the metro stations," he said.