Boss to pay for shower death

By Li Xinran  |   2008-6-20  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A RESTAURANT that employed a migrant worker and her landlord have both been ordered to pay compensation after the worker was electrocuted while taking a shower.

The landlord has been ordered to pay nearly 200,000 yuan (US$29,078) in compensation. The restaurant she worked for must also pay 56,300 yuan.

The Jing'an District People's Court, the court of first instance, yesterday found the landlord, identified as Shen, and the employer, the Shuyou Seafood Restaurant, responsible for the death of the migrant worker, identified as Lin.

The court heard the restaurant signed a leasing agreement with Shen to rent an apartment for a year from March 18, 2006 as a dormitory for its employees.

Lin and her co-workers moved into the house in March, 2006.

Lin was electrocuted on June 10, 2006 by the electric water heater while taking a shower, the court was told.

Lin's parents from Fujian Province sued Shen, the restaurant, the water heater producer, the local power supplier and the manufacturer of the electrocution protector for a total of 297,000 yuan as compensation.

The court found no problems with the water heater itself, but ruled the installation was not correct and a switch on the protector was fake. The court also found the agreement between Shen and the restaurant was valid which meant Shen was responsible for the safety of the apartment during the lease.

The restaurant that rented the apartment for its employees should also take some responsibility for the accident, the court ruled.