Tourist awarded 130k yuan for falling down on yacht

A travel agency has been ordered to pay 130,000 yuan ($20,878) in compensation to an injured tourist who fell down on a yacht during a group tour to Thailand, a district court said Monday.

The plaintiff, surnamed Tao, sued the unnamed travel agency for 200,000 yuan in August 2013 after the two parties failed to come to an agreement on compensation for her injury, according to a press release from Jiading District People's Court.

The injury occurred in November 2012 while Tao was traveling on a yacht to Ko Lan from Pattaya on the fourth day of the six-day tour, the court said. During the trip, Tao defied her tour guide's warning and stood up on the yacht to change seats because a nearby passenger was seasick.

While Tao was making her way to the front of the yacht, the boat experienced a jolt that knocked her to the deck.

She injured her lumbar vertebra and ended up spending six days at a local hospital, the court said. She spent 370 yuan on further treatment when she returned to Shanghai.

The Shanghai Association of Forensic Science later determined that the injury left Tao with a minor disability, the court said.

In its defense, the travel agency that organized Tao's trip argued that Tao was responsible for her injury because it had warned her in advance against standing up during the yacht trip.

The court ruled that the travel agency was liable for the injury because its tour guide failed to stop Tao from moving about on the yacht.

However, it didn't award Tao her entire claim because she also bore some responsibility for her injury for ignoring the guide's warning.