[Direct answer]The first step in determining responsibility is to determine who is responsible for the sign. All individuals, managers, and users who cannot prove that they are not at fault must bear tort liability, which is the presumption of fault established in Article 1253 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021). Operators of shopping malls, parking lots, and storefronts on the street are subject to safety protection obligations in accordance with Article 1198. Those who fail to promptly investigate and eliminate hidden dangers shall bear corresponding responsibilities. The proportion of liability shall be divided according to the degree of fault and causation of each party. If the guardian fails to supervise properly, the other party's share of liability may be reduced, but the reduction is usually limited. If the sign is installed by an advertising company, inspected by the property management company, and owned by the owner, all parties may be sued as defendants simultaneously.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The scenarios of injuries caused by falling objects can be divided into four categories according to the ownership of the signs. The first category is the signboards of shops facing the street, whose ownership belongs to the shop owners and are usually installed by advertising companies. Common causes include rusty steel frames and failed expansion bolts. The second category is large-scale billboards on rooftops or walls, where the advertisers, advertising operators, publishers, and building owners are often not the same entities, and the responsibilities for daily maintenance are vaguely written in the contracts. The third category includes construction fences, temporary trusses and light boxes in front of sales offices, which are not removed after the project ends and may collapse in the wind. The fourth category is temporary stage backdrops and balloon arches at festivals with insufficient weighting. After children are injured, families usually only find the nearest shop owners, who then shrug off responsibility by saying the signboards were made by advertising companies. What really determines whether compensation can be successfully implemented is whether the ownership, management rights, and approval records of the signboards can be clarified within one week after the incident, and whether evidence preservation has been carried out at the scene. Strong winds are not uncommon in Beijing during spring and autumn. Meteorological records can serve as defense materials for the perpetrators or favorable evidence for the victims, depending on how they are used.

II. Key points of dispute

First, the identification of the responsible parties. The owners, managers, and users of billboards may be separate: the steel structure of rooftop advertisements belongs to the owner, the images belong to the advertising company, the publishing rights belong to the advertisers, and the property management company is responsible for daily inspections. When suing, all possible parties should be listed as defendants, and each party should provide evidence to prove that they are not the responsible parties. If the responsible parties are difficult to identify at the moment, the site operators can be sued first, and then the actual managers can be identified through their evidence, to avoid the lawsuit being dismissed due to incorrect defendants. After identifying the responsible parties, the lawsuit can be corrected accordingly. Second, how to refute the presumption of fault. The defendant needs to prove that they have repaired, reinforced, and inspected the billboard according to regulations. Simply arguing that the wind was too strong is usually insufficient, unless it can be proven that the wind force reached an unforeseeable and unavoidable level. Third, whether the guardian's negligence can be offset. If a child stays under the billboard for a long time, climbs over the railing, or chases around the fence, the guardian may be deemed to have failed to supervise properly, thereby reducing the defendant's liability. However, the reduction in liability is generally not high, unless the guardian clearly neglected their duties. Fourth, the relationship between insurance compensation and infringement compensation. Most billboards are insured with public liability insurance. Insurance compensation does not exempt the infringement liability, and the insufficient part of the compensation can still be claimed from the responsible parties.

III. Professional analysis by Hengluo Lawyers

The order of on-site response is crucial. While the child is being sent to the hospital, arrange for others to take photos and videos of the fallen objects, broken bolts, rusted steel frames, and ground traces from different angles and record the time; retrieve surveillance footage from surrounding shops, intersections, and car recorders, which are usually stored for seven to thirty days and must be copied or notarized within the time limit; request the meteorological department to provide wind force records during the incident; inquire with the street and urban management departments about the approval and safety inspection records of the advertising facilities; and retrieve inspection and maintenance records from the property management. After obtaining the above materials, commission an agency to conduct a technical appraisal of the cause of the fall, determining whether it was due to material rust, anchor failure, improper installation, or external forces. When submitting the materials for appraisal, provide the material of the fallen components, the installation year, and previous maintenance and reinforcement records. If there are no construction records, require the responsible party to provide them, and those who refuse to do so will bear the adverse consequences. In litigation, you can apply for pre-litigation evidence preservation to prevent the site from being cleaned up; and also apply for an investigation order to retrieve the construction contracts and acceptance materials of the advertising company. The compensation items shall be listed according to the actual losses. For children with head injuries and facial scars, the follow-up treatment fees and cosmetic surgery costs can be claimed once they actually occur or based on the appraisal opinion.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Article 1253 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) stipulates that if the owner, manager, or user compensates and there are other responsible parties, they have the right to recover the compensation from them; Article 1198 enumerates that the operators and managers of business venues and public places such as hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, airports, sports stadiums, entertainment venues, as well as the organizers of mass events, who fail to fulfill their obligations of ensuring safety and cause harm to others, shall bear tort liability; Article 1179 lists the items of compensation; Article 1183 supports the request for consolation money for serious mental damage; Article 188 stipulates a three-year statute of limitations, which shall be calculated from the date when the right holder knows or should know that his rights have been infringed and the obligee's identity has been identified. The materials shall be prepared in five groups: falling objects and site images, monitoring and meteorological records, medical treatment and appraisal materials, approval and maintenance records of advertising facilities, and the industrial and commercial and property information of the responsible parties. For the handling process, please refer to our firm's guidelines.Legal services for personal injury and medical disputes\nPage.

5. Hengluo Law Firm's Reminder

Five pieces of advice. First, don't wait until the scene is cleaned up before collecting evidence. If the fallen objects are removed or the bolts are replaced, the technical appraisal will lose its object, and the proportion of responsibility can only be estimated. Second, don't just sue the store owner. The installers of the signboard, the building owners, the property management, and the advertisement publishers may all share responsibility. The more defendants there are, the more guaranteed the execution will be. Third, pay attention to the claim time limit of public liability insurance. Insurance claims usually require prompt notification after the accident. If it's delayed too long, the insurance company may refuse to pay on the grounds of failure to notify in time. Claims and litigation can proceed concurrently. Fourth, discuss one-time compensation after the child's condition stabilizes. The follow-up treatment of facial scars and craniocerebral injuries and the assessment of disability levels require time to observe. Signing an agreement too early may easily underestimate the losses. In the first week after the incident, it's more useful to gather four pieces of evidence: site photos, surveillance footage, weather certificates, and medical records. Fifth, leave room for future claims when asserting the amount. Children are still in the growth and development period, and scar contracture and cranial bone defect repair often require phased surgery. When suing, you can claim the necessary follow-up treatment fees at the same time, and the unconfirmed parts can be sued after they actually occur, to avoid reducing the total amount by lumping it all together at once.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If I can't find the owner of the billboard, can I sue the property management company and the advertiser?

You can file a lawsuit first and then identify the responsible party during the litigation process. According to Article 1253 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021), if the owner, manager, or user of the falling object cannot prove that they are not at fault, they shall bear tort liability. The signs usually carry the advertiser's contact information or investment promotion phone numbers, which can be used to identify the publisher. For advertising facilities on building exteriors, you can inquire with the property management, street authorities, or urban management departments about the approval process for their installation and the safety inspection records. After filing the lawsuit, you can apply for an investigation order to obtain the advertising lease contracts and construction acceptance materials. If there are any omissions in the identification of the responsible party, you can apply to add defendants within the evidentiary period.

Q2: Can the photos of the rusted steel frame of the falling billboard be used as evidence of fault?

Yes, but a complete chain of evidence is required. A single photo can only prove the appearance of the object. It needs to be accompanied by the shooting time, shooting location, reference objects, and original documents. It is best to use devices with time watermarks or obtain notarized preservation; at the same time, retrieve the meteorological records before and after the incident, property inspection records, and maintenance contracts from previous years to prove that the rust has existed for a long time and has not been dealt with. Professional institutions can conduct technical analysis of the fracture morphology and corrosion products to further distinguish between rust failure and external damage. When the authenticity of the photos is questioned, it is possible to apply for an appraisal of the original storage medium. If there are only photos but no maintenance records, the court will usually determine the liability based on partial fault.

Q3: Who should pay the appraisal fee and acceptance fee first in the case of a billboard falling on a person and resulting in a claim?

All expenses shall be prepaid by the party claiming compensation first, and then shared according to the proportion of liability. The acceptance fee shall be prepaid by the plaintiff when filing the case in accordance with the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Costs" (effective as of April 1, 2007), and the burden shall be determined according to the proportion of victory or defeat in the judgment; the appraisal fee shall be prepaid by the party applying for appraisal. In practice, the plaintiff usually pays it first, and the fee shall be included in the loss or shared according to the proportion of fault. The amount of the fee is related to the subject matter and the appraisal items. The fee for appraisal of the cause of the fall is usually higher than that for ordinary disability appraisal. Those who are financially difficult can apply for deferral of payment when filing the case and submit supporting materials. If the losing party does not voluntarily bear the responsibility, they can apply for it together in the enforcement stage.

Q4: If we sue the owner of the billboard, can the first-instance trial be completed within six months?

Ordinary procedures are generally concluded within six months from the date of filing, and summary procedures within three months. According to the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2024), if there are special circumstances requiring an extension, it may be extended by six months with the approval of the president of the court. Any further extension shall be subject to the approval of the superior court. For cases involving the identification of the cause of the fall, the identification of the disability level, and the addition of defendants, the appraisal period is not included in the trial time limit, and the actual time required is often more than six months. If the defendant raises a jurisdiction objection or applies to add a third party, the period will also be extended. If either party appeals after the judgment, the time limit for the second-instance trial is three months.

Q5: On the day the child was injured, should we first report to the police to collect evidence or first undergo a forensic medical examination to assess the injury?

First, call the police and secure the scene, and conduct the injury assessment after treatment. Calling the police can generate a police response record, prompting the public security organ to conduct on-site investigation and retrieve surrounding surveillance footage, which usually has a retention period of only seven to thirty days, so it's better to do it as soon as possible. At the same time, take photos and videos of the falling objects, bolts, and ground traces, and record the contact information of witnesses. The injury assessment should be conducted after the injury stabilizes. Conducting the assessment too early may underestimate the severity of the injury due to swelling or unresolved complications. During treatment, keep the medical records, imaging data, and expense receipts intact, and apply for a disability assessment after treatment is completed. The two processes are not conflicting with each other.

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and open adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. If you encounter disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.