The Taiwan High Court on Friday ruled that Taiwan’s Directorate General of Highways should pay state compensation of NT$4.68 million (US$152,541) to the family of a Japanese man who was killed by falling rocks while preparing for a bicycle race in Hualien in 2017.
In its verdict, the court reasoned that the agency was liable due to “inadequate infrastructure,” which led to the accident.
The deceased man, Shirai Hiroyuki, was killed in Toroko National Park close to the exit of a tunnel on the Central Cross-Island Highway near a scenic spot known as Jiuqudong, or the Tunnel of Nine Turns.
Hiroyuki’s parents sought state compensation from the agency on the grounds that it had been negligent.
The Yilan District Court in June 2020 ruled in favor of the agency, reasoning that it had put up a warning sign that read: “Beware of falling rocks” and thus had duly fulfilled its duties.
Hiroyuki’s parents appealed the ruling.
The Taiwan High Court said that fences and concrete retaining walls set up on and at the foot of nearby slopes had been smashed by falling rocks, which demonstrated that the section where Hiroyuki was killed is an accident-prone section.
In addition, a tunnel extension was built and covered with polystyrene, which also indicates that that section is dangerous, the court stated.
The agency knew this, but did not take any concrete measures to prevent accidents, which resulted in inadequate infrastructure to stop falling rocks, it said.
The agency shall pay a solatium of NT$2 million to both of Hiroyuki’s parents, in addition to covering medical and cremation fees totaling NT$290,000 and about NT$390,000 to cover the expense of Hiroyuki’s funeral in Japan, the high court ruled.
The Directorate General of Highways said on Friday it would decide its next move after reading through the verdict.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel