The family of a man who collapsed and later died inside a public bus in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, filed a lawsuit against two bus operating companies, but the court dismissed their claim, as reported by Chinese media Red Star News on the 29th.

According to the article, at around 8:02 AM on December 27, 2024, Mr. Li (Lee), who was riding on a public bus, felt unwell and collapsed inside the vehicle. The driver noticed, stopped the bus, confirmed the situation, and asked other passengers to call an ambulance. At 8:06 AM, the driver opened the bus door to let other passengers off and, with the help of one female passenger, attended to Mr. Li. Mr. Li had spontaneous breathing until around 8:13 AM, but then stopped responding to calls, and the driver performed CPR. At around 8:17 AM, paramedics arrived and began life-saving measures. At around 8:22 AM, he was transferred to an ambulance and transported to a hospital, but his death was confirmed en route. The cause of death was attributed to sudden cardiac death.

The family argued, "At that time, the nearest hospital was 2.6 kilometers away by car from the scene. If the driver had driven the public bus directly to the hospital, the time until he received life-saving measures would have been about 7 minutes. However, the driver waited 15 minutes for an ambulance on the spot, and it took even more time to get him off the bus and transport him to the hospital, delaying rescue by 15-16 minutes." They filed a lawsuit demanding payment of over 400,000 yuan (approximately 9.4 million yen), which is 40% of the total cost of rescue expenses, funeral expenses, death compensation, living expenses for dependents, and consolation money for mental distress, from the two operating companies.

The bus operating companies explained, "The driver's route is fixed, and they are not familiar with other roads. Fearing the possibility of height restrictions or other obstacles making passage impossible along the way, the driver decided to wait for the ambulance on the spot."

In the first instance, the court ruled that "the bus driver reasonably fulfilled their duty of care." It stated, "Given that it was the morning rush hour, and the driver was in a situation where they could not determine if there were height restrictions or traffic jams on the way to the hospital, the driver's decision to wait for the ambulance on the spot does not constitute negligence." The court also dismissed the family's claim, stating that a causal relationship between Mr. Li's death and the bus company could not be recognized.

The family appealed, but in the second instance, the court also stated, "The bus driver evacuated passengers, called an ambulance, and took emergency measures within their capabilities. Their actions were not clearly unreasonable in light of common sense. The claim seeking compensation responsibility from the operating companies has no basis," and dismissed the appeal. (Translation/Editing by Kitada)