Man gravely injured after saving family from fire awarded US$80,000 by China court despite insurer’s ‘self-inflicted’ claim
- Man pulls his family out of burning house, saves their lives, was severely burned
- Court says insurer’s instinct to refuse man’s claim does not correspond with positive social customs
A man in central China achieved success in a legal battle against his insurance provider which denied his claim despite his severe burns incurred while bravely rescuing his mother, wife, and son from a burning house.
The case came under the spotlight in early May when the website administered by China’s Supreme People’s Court relayed the details of the verdict.
In January last year, the man, surnamed Yang, was at his friend’s home in Hubei province when he heard that a small wooden house in the yard had caught fire, with his mother, wife, and son all inside.
Yang immediately charged into the fire and saved them all, but received serious burns in multiple places on his body during the process.
After receiving medical treatment, the insurance company refused to pay Yang’s claim, saying his burns were caused by his own actions rather than an accident. Yang had received accident insurance from his employer.
Yang was not impressed and took the insurance company, which was not identified in the report, to court.
