Riding a Bicycle While Intoxicated May Cost Part of the Compensation — Supreme Court in a Traffic Accident Case

The victim's state of moderate alcohol intoxication and riding a bicycle without reflectors at night is gross negligence, which according to part two of Article 1193 of the Civil Code of Ukraine is a basis for reducing the amount of compensation for damage caused by a source of increased danger, but does not completely exempt the owner of the source of increased danger from liability. This conclusion was made by the Supreme Court in the composition of the panel of judges of the Second Judicial Chamber of the Cassation Civil Court.

On May 6, the Cassation Civil Court of the Supreme Court considered in simplified proceedings the cassation appeal of Person_1 and Person_2 in the case filed by Person_1, Person_2, acting in the interests of minor children: Person_3 and Person_4, against the sole proprietor Person_5 for compensation for damage caused by a criminal offense.

To substantiate the claims, the plaintiffs stated that the death of the victim Person_7 occurred as a result of being hit by a "MAN TGM 12.250" truck. The criminal proceedings regarding the accident were closed due to the absence of a criminal offense. The plaintiffs indicated that the driver was employed by the defendant, and therefore the sole proprietor Person_5, as the owner of the source of increased danger, is liable for the damage caused.

The court of first instance partially satisfied the claim, recovering from the defendant in favor of the plaintiffs moral damages in the amount of 500,000.00 UAH each.

The appellate court disagreed with the conclusions of the first instance court, canceled the decision, and issued a new ruling partially satisfying the claim, reducing the amount of compensation to 30,000.00 UAH each, in particular taking into account the gross negligence of the victim.

The Supreme Court agreed with the conclusions of the appellate court for the following reasons.

According to part 5 of Article 1187 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, damage caused by a source of increased danger is not compensated if it arose as a result of force majeure or the intent of the victim. Force majeure should be understood as extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances under the given conditions (paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 263 of the Civil Code of Ukraine), which have an external character. The intent of the victim should be understood as such unlawful behavior in which the victim foresees and desires or consciously allows the occurrence of harmful consequences.

If the gross negligence of the victim contributed to the occurrence or increase of damage, the amount of compensation may be reduced depending on the degree of his fault (Article 1193 of the Civil Code of Ukraine). At the same time, complete exemption of the person who caused the damage from liability on this basis is not allowed unless otherwise expressly provided by law.

The issue of the presence of gross negligence in the victim's actions is decided by the court in each specific case taking into account all factual circumstances of the case, including the victim's behavior, his condition, and compliance with safety rules.

In this case, it was established that the victim was intoxicated (2.02 ‰) and was riding a bicycle at night without reflectors, which was reasonably determined by the courts as gross negligence. Such behavior is causally related to the occurrence of the traffic accident and is a basis for reducing the amount of compensation according to Article 1193 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. At the same time, no criminal offense was established in the actions of the vehicle driver, and the cause of the accident was recognized as a traffic rule violation by the cyclist Person_7.

The appellate court correctly concluded that the liability of the owner of the source of increased danger arises regardless of fault, but the victim's behavior is significant for determining the amount of compensation, therefore the reduction of moral damages is justified and complies with the norms of Article 1193 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.

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