But from his conversation with Wang Dachui, Qin Mu had gained a rough understanding of the relevant situation. Lawsuits in Jin City these days... they’ve beco increasingly rare. Public security is getting better and better. And they’ve started applying to be a ’Civilized City’; word is, there’s a good chance they’ll get it.
"Xiao Qin, sothing terrible has happened! Old Qi, from our nursing ho... he’s had an accident."
All of a sudden, Zhang Qingyuan rushed into Qin Mu’s office, his expression hurried and anxious.
"What happened?" Qin Mu was startled for a mont and quickly asked.
At this hour... Zhang Qingyuan should have been playing mahjong with Feng Cuihua.
"Well... it’s just... It’s said Old Qi was out for a walk when a young man on a bicycle accidentally hit him. After hitting him, the young man just fled..." Zhang Qingyuan panted, taking a deep breath.
He paused for a mont, then continued, "Old Qi wants to sue this young man, but we can’t find him. So, he asked to co and ask you about it."
Qin Mu frowned. "Is Old Qi alright?" he couldn’t help but ask.
Old Qi was one of the elderly residents at the nursing ho. He particularly enjoyed leaving the grounds for a walk. Before and after als, he liked to stroll around the premises. This ti, he’d had the misfortune of being hit.
"He wasn’t seriously injured. We took him to the nursing ho’s infirmary. The doctor said he has a slight back strain, but no other major issues. Still, he just can’t let this go..." Zhang Qingyuan explained Old Qi’s situation in detail, holding nothing back.
Having spent so much ti with Qin Mu, it wasn’t just him; the other elderly residents in the nursing ho had also beco more particular about things.
In the past, with such minor incidents... if they weren’t seriously hurt, they’d usually just let it go.
But this ti... Old Qi grew angrier the more he thought about it, insisting the cyclist face legal repercussions.
But he had been alone when it happened, and the young man had fled. It was just a minor collision, not a malicious hit designed to send soone flying.
"It’s a relief that he’s okay," Qin Mu said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Then, after thinking for a mont, he analyzed, "At the ti of the incident, Old Qi was walking on the pedestrian path when he was hit. The perpetrator fled. We can legally hold him accountable for a hit-and-run."
Before he could finish, Old Zhang asked, puzzled, "That counts as a hit-and-run? I thought it would be considered intentional injury."
Having seen his share of cases, he’d picked up a fair bit of legal knowledge. As he understood it, a hit-and-run usually involved larger vehicles, like cars. A collision involving a bicycle... surely any resulting scrapes wouldn’t be considered a traffic accident, let alone a hit-and-run.
Qin Mu smiled and explained, "According to the ’Road Traffic Safety Law,’ injuries or damage caused by non-motor vehicles on the road should be classified as a traffic accident."
Thanks to his ’Eidetic mory’ skill, he possessed a detailed understanding of various areas of law.
"’Motor vehicles,’" he elaborated, "’refer to wheeled vehicles driven or towed by a power unit, designed for road travel, and used for transporting people or goods, or for specialized engineering work. Non-motor vehicles are conveyances driven by human or animal power on roads. This also includes vehicles like motorized wheelchairs for the disabled and electric bicycles, provided they et national standards for maximum design speed, unladen mass, and external dinsions.’ The traffic law stipulates that any drivable conveyance on the road is considered a vehicle. Baby strollers, walkers, wheelchairs... these are all considered vehicles, classified as non-motor vehicles. As long as it’s on the road and causes injury or a collision, it’s deed a traffic accident."
"Wheelchairs and children’s bikes count too?" Zhang Qingyuan’s eyes widened. His face registered utter disbelief.
Wheelchairs and those little bikes kids ride... their speed might not even match a person’s normal walking pace. He couldn’t recall any traffic accidents involving such things.
"There are actually quite a few of these cases," Qin Mu shrugged and said with a smile. "In judicial practice, there have been many traffic accidents caused by elderly individuals in wheelchairs colliding with pedestrians."
When he was studying law... he’d skimd through nurous cases. Among them, he’d encountered quite a few peculiar ones.
"So what should we do about Old Qi’s situation?" Zhang Qingyuan swallowed and asked.
Old Qi was currently bedridden and couldn’t move easily. So, Zhang Qingyuan had to ask on his behalf.
He looked at Qin Mu and asked curiously, "We talked it over. Old Qi only has minor scrapes, nothing serious. Would calling the police even be useful?"
In reality, it seed the police would likely dismiss such a minor case if reported. But... after knowing Qin Mu for so long, they wanted to take every matter seriously. Everyone in the nursing ho was in their seventies or eighties, in the twilight of their lives. To put it bluntly, they didn’t have many years left. Being hit by soone who fled without even an apology... they just wanted the culprit to get the lesson they deserved.
"Calling the police... probably won’t help," Qin Mu said, looking at Zhang Qingyuan seriously. "This isn’t sothing they handle. The best approach is to call the traffic police."
If you call 110... the police officers usually only handle cases that constitute a cri. For sothing that’s just a minor collision, they almost certainly wouldn’t follow up. It doesn’t even et the criteria for filing an official case. But if you call the traffic police...
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