In Jiangxi, a 56-year-old woman, Ms. Zhang, was riding as a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her son. A tree on the left side of the road suddenly broke and struck her. The accident caused severe head injuries, and she died despite rescue efforts.
After the accident, Ms. Zhang's family sued the local village committee, the town government, the transportation bureau, and a villager surnamed Liu, demanding 991,093 yuan in compensation.
The first-instance court verdict determined that Ms. Zhang was 20% responsible for her own injuries because she was not wearing a helmet. The court found that the tree was already dead and that the town government and the transportation bureau had failed to fulfill their maintenance duties, holding them 80% responsible. The court calculated the total damages from the accident to be 984,114 yuan. Of this, the Dongshan Town government was ordered to pay 50% compensation (492,057 yuan), and the Shangyou County Transportation Bureau was ordered to pay 30% compensation (295,234 yuan).
Subsequently, Ms. Zhang's family, the Shangyou County Dongshan Town People's Government, and the Shangyou County Transportation Bureau all filed appeals. After reviewing the case, the court determined that the initial verdict was not improper, rejected the appeals, and upheld the original judgement.
Ms. Zhang's eldest daughter stated that since the verdict, they have not received any compensation and have applied for compulsory enforcement of the ruling.