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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Crime & Justice

Woman Denied Damages for Burns Suffered While Fighting Neighbor's Fire

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A woman who attempted to extinguish a neighbor's fire suffered severe burns and had to have her foot amputated.
  • She sued the tenant and landlord for damages, but both lower and appellate courts ruled against her, citing her voluntary intervention in a dangerous situation.
  • The court rejected her claim, stating her actions constituted 'self-induced peril,' thus breaking the causal link between the fire's origin and her injuries.

A 68-year-old woman in Magong City, Penghu County, has lost her lawsuit seeking over NT$6 million in damages after suffering severe burns and subsequent amputation of her foot while attempting to put out a neighbor's fire. The incident occurred on June 27, 2022, when a fire broke out in a rented apartment due to a tenant's improper use of an extension cord.

The woman, identified by her surname Hsu, was returning home with breakfast when she discovered the fire. Despite her own husband, who had mobility issues from a recent accident, managing to escape, Hsu voluntarily decided to enter the burning apartment to help. She was found inside by firefighters, suffering extensive burns.

The court found that the woman's decision to enter the burning apartment was a voluntary act that placed herself in danger, breaking the causal link between the fire's origin and her injuries.

— Court rulingExplanation for the denial of the woman's compensation claim.

Hsu sued the tenant and landlord, alleging negligence in the use of electrical equipment, illegal apartment partitioning, and the lack of safety devices like alarms and sprinklers. She argued that these failures contributed to the fire and her injuries. However, the Penghu District Court ruled against her, stating that her decision to enter the fire scene was a voluntary act that placed herself in danger. The court found this intervention broke the necessary causal link between the property's alleged deficiencies and her injuries.

Appealing the decision, Hsu changed her story, claiming she had gone to the balcony to water plants, not to fight the fire. However, the Taiwan High Court in Kaohsiung rejected her appeal. Judges noted that Hsu's husband had previously told media that his wife was carrying a basin to douse the flames. Based on this prior statement and other evidence, the court upheld the original ruling, concluding that Hsu's actions constituted 'self-induced peril' and denied her claim. The case is now finalized.

The court upheld the original ruling, concluding that the woman's actions constituted 'self-induced peril' and denied her claim.

— Taiwan High CourtFinal decision on the appeal.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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