## Facts

- Lai Guofa operated a trailer used to transport sand and entered into a contract with Chen Weili under which Chen would work on the trailer in exchange for compensation.
- Lai had not registered for a business license for this operation.
- While Chen was working on the trailer, an accident occurred that crushed Chen’s leg.
- Chen received hospital treatment for the injury.
- During Chen’s recovery, Chen’s father entered into a written agreement with Lai providing that Lai would pay 1,000 yuan and all hospital expenses, and that this would be the full extent of Lai’s liability for the accident.
- After leaving the hospital, Chen retained legal counsel.
- A court later certified Chen as having a major (severe) disability resulting from the accident.
- Chen filed suit against Lai in the trial court seeking compensation beyond the earlier payment.
- Lai argued that (a) the dispute was employment-related and first had to be submitted to labor arbitration under labor law, (b) the agreement with Chen’s father discharged Lai from further liability, and (c) Chen’s own fault caused the injury, making Chen responsible for the loss.

## Issues

1. Must an injury dispute arising from a paid work arrangement with an unlicensed operator be submitted to labor arbitration before a civil action may proceed in court?
2. Does a settlement agreement signed by the injured worker’s father during hospitalization—providing 1,000 yuan plus hospital expenses as “full liability”—bar the worker’s later suit for additional compensation?
3. Does the worker’s alleged fault relieve the engager of liability (or substantially reduce it) for the worker’s injury under the parties’ work arrangement?

## Decision

- The trial court rejected Lai’s arguments and entered judgment for Chen for approximately 82,000 yuan.
- The intermediate appellate court affirmed, again rejecting Lai’s arbitration, settlement, and fault defenses.
- On further appeal, the reviewing court left the judgment intact, maintaining the damages award in Chen’s favor.

## Legal Principles

- When a paid work arrangement is not treated as a standard labor relationship under labor law, the injured worker may pursue civil liability in court without first obtaining a labor-arbitration award.
- A low-value settlement signed by a family member during the injured worker’s hospitalization is not automatically a complete waiver of the injured worker’s later claim for full compensation, especially where the worker later proves major disability.
- A defendant’s claim that the injured worker was at fault does not, by itself, eliminate liability; at most, fault arguments may affect allocation of responsibility depending on the circumstances and proof.

## Conclusion

Chen Weili, hired to work on Lai Guofa’s unlicensed sand-hauling trailer, suffered a crushed leg and later received a major-disability certification; despite a hospital-era agreement signed by Chen’s father for 1,000 yuan plus medical costs, the courts allowed Chen’s civil suit to proceed, rejected Lai’s labor-arbitration, release, and fault defenses, and upheld a judgment of roughly 82,000 yuan in Chen’s favor.


Chen Weili v. Lai Guofa, Case 113312200012 (2000)