On November 18, 2024, Li, a staff member of the Qianxi City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in Bijie, Guizhou, fainted in the office during work. After being sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, he was declared dead on December 3. The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Bijie City has made a decision not to recognize work-related injuries. The family members are dissatisfied and have filed an administrative lawsuit with the court, requesting that the Bijie City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau revoke the decision not to recognize the work-related injury and order them to re recognize it.
The People's Court of Dafang County held in the first instance that Li had died more than 48 hours after his initial diagnosis, which did not meet the conditions for being treated as a work-related injury. The time of death should be based on the death certificate issued by the medical institution. The family's request to determine Li's time of death based on the time of brain death assessment had no legal basis, and therefore ruled to dismiss it as a lawsuit request.
The family appealed against the first instance judgment, claiming that Li had died of brain injury within 48 hours. This was the result of the family's expectation to do their best to maintain his life, and their unwillingness to give up rescue methods such as ventilators. Therefore, determining the time of brain injury is more in line with the legislative intent and ethical norms.
The reporter learned from China Judgments Online that recently, the Intermediate People's Court of Bijie City announced the second instance administrative judgment. The second instance court held that the facts determined in the first instance were clear and the application of the law was correct. The final judgment was to reject the appeal and uphold the original judgment.
