Likely to Shift to Subrogation Issues Among Insurance Companies
Vehicle Owner's Regular Maintenance Is Key
Attention is focused on how compensation will be made for vehicles damaged by the electric car fire that occurred in an apartment parking lot in Incheon.
Earlier, on the morning of the 1st, a fire broke out in a Mercedes-Benz electric car in the underground first-floor parking lot of an apartment in Cheongna-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon. As a result of this fire, about 140 vehicles were damaged by fire or soot.
In this case, the damaged vehicles will first receive insurance payments from their respective insurance companies. Then, the insurers will file subrogation lawsuits against the insurer of the vehicle that caused the fire or the manufacturer. Claims for damages to apartment residents’ daily lives that are not covered by automobile insurance can also be made against the manufacturer.
Article 758 of the Civil Act stipulates, “When damage is caused to others due to defects in the installation or preservation of a structure, the possessor of the structure shall be liable for damages.” Therefore, if legal disputes arise between insurance companies, the key issue will be whether the Mercedes-Benz vehicle owner, where the initial fire occurred, properly managed the vehicle.
In other words, whether the owner properly maintained the car, parked it correctly, and used it appropriately will be crucial. If there are no particular defects, the insurance payment will be borne by the insurance company of the damaged vehicle as is.
Vehicles damaged by fire in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Cheongna, Seo-gu, Incheon [Image source=Yonhap News]
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 8th that a second joint inspection will be conducted on the Mercedes-Benz electric car that caught fire. They will focus on investigating the lower body of the vehicle containing the battery pack and secure the battery management device to request a detailed examination from the National Forensic Service. Mercedes-Benz’s German headquarters and Mercedes-Benz Korea also dispatched six experts, including battery specialists, to the inspection site.
If it is proven that there was no problem with the driver’s vehicle management, the responsibility will shift to the manufacturer, ultimately concluding as a subrogation issue between the insurer and the manufacturer. Unless special negligence by the consumer is found, the vehicle defect will be regarded as the cause under the Product Liability Act.
Additionally, in this fire incident, the fire safety manager may also emerge as a responsible party, as it was revealed that the parking lot sprinkler system did not function properly.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea executives, including Honor? Choukno, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Kilian Tellen, Vice President in charge of Product, Marketing, and Digital Business, visited the accident site at the Incheon Cheongna apartment around 7 p.m. on the 9th to meet with representatives of the affected residents.
At this meeting, they expressed their intention to urgently provide 4.5 billion won to restore damages caused by the accident and normalize residents’ lives. Although the cause of the accident has not been identified, this support is positioned as humanitarian aid.
Reactions to Mercedes-Benz’s decision are mixed. Some view it as an appropriate gesture of sincerity toward the victims, while others say, “If this had happened in the United States, it would have resulted in a lawsuit worth 4.5 billion dollars, not 4.5 billion won.”
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