During Furniture Delivery, Initial Impact Caused to Ceiling
Netizens Divided Over Social Responsibility
In an apartment complex in Incheon, an elementary school student was injured when a part of the elevator ceiling structure fell and hit her head. A dispute over responsibility for the accident is ongoing between the student's parents and the apartment management office. On the 9th, a post titled "Elementary School Student Elevator Accident" was uploaded to several online communities. The author, Mr. A, complained that his daughter, Ms. B (11), was hit on the head by a falling ceiling structure with a thud while riding the elevator to their home on the 29th of last month. Ms. B pressed the emergency bell to notify the management office of the damage and then went home.
On the 29th of last month, an elementary school student was hit on the head by a structure that fell from the elevator ceiling in an apartment in Incheon. [Photo by Online Community]
When Mr. A learned about the accident later, he did not initially realize the severity of the situation. He said, "Since there was no wound, I thought a small object had fallen and just waited for the management office to contact me." He added, "A few days later, the management office manager showed me the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, and I saw that the (large) ceiling structure hit her head directly, and the child was very shocked." He expressed frustration, saying, "From the evening of the accident day until before going to the hospital, my daughter felt nauseous and dizzy, saying she couldn't get up, and she vomited three times. But they only showed me the CCTV after five days, which delayed the hospital visit, and I feel very sorry."
However, the management office and the elevator maintenance company shifted the responsibility for the accident to the furniture delivery worker and Ms. B. They claimed that about ten days before the accident, on the 17th of the same month, the furniture delivery worker accidentally hit the ceiling with furniture during delivery, causing the structure to receive a first impact, and that Ms. B caused a second impact by dancing in the elevator, which caused the structure to fall. Mr. A said, "Is it possible for the ceiling to fall just because my child jumped twice in place? The elevator maintenance company said the furniture delivery worker is responsible and that they would file an insurance claim with that party, and the management office manager said they would look into the apartment insurance if we want, but I was very angry at their response."
Mr. A said, "My daughter was diagnosed with a concussion and is currently hospitalized for shoulder and neck sprains," and asked, "She had nosebleeds five times over three days, which never happened before. Is the apartment management office really not responsible for the accident? Is it really all the furniture company's fault?" Netizens responded with comments such as, "Isn't it the furniture company's fault?" "The apartment also has responsibility for negligence in management," "She wasn't jumping excessively, but there seems to be a problem with the elevator from the start," and "It's a bit much for a facility structure to fall like that." On the other hand, some netizens said, "That's why they tell you not to jump in the elevator," "Should the management office inspect every apartment elevator every hour?" and "It's not just one party's fault; the child also bears some responsibility."
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