Recently, as compensation payments totaling over 2.6 million yuan were transferred into the client's account, it marked the complete victory of the workplace injury and third-party infringement case series handled by lawyer Cai Kangmiao after nearly two years of advocacy efforts. The client's family members expressed their gratitude multiple times and presented a vibrant banner as a token of appreciation.
I. A Sudden Tragedy: Construction Site Accident Causes Severe Injuries, Compensation Unavailable Leaves Family in Distress
Client C, an employee of a concrete company, was conducting concrete quality inspection work in October 2021 when he was struck by concrete sprayed from a suddenly ruptured concrete pump hose, resulting in severe injuries. C was diagnosed with severe cranial brain injury, post-traumatic brain injury-induced mental disorder (severe intellectual impairment), and quadriplegia, rendering him unable to fully care for himself. At this point, while the concrete company had cooperated with C to process the work injury claim and it was classified as a Grade 2 work injury, the construction company, pump truck company, and employer (concrete company) involved in the accident were shifting blame among themselves and could not reach a private agreement, leaving C's efforts to seek compensation at an impasse.
C's injuries were severe, and the high daily medical expenses and various other costs plunged C's family into financial distress. Under immense economic pressure, C's brother sought legal assistance from Attorney Cai Kangmiao through a friend's recommendation. Attorney Cai learned that the accident site was contracted by a certain construction company, which had signed a “Pump Truck Mechanical Lease Contract” with the pump truck company to rent the pump truck, and had also signed a “Ready-Mix Concrete Purchase Contract” with the concrete company, hence the concrete company had sent C to the site to work. Attorney Cai Kangmiao immediately represented C in filing separate tort lawsuits against the construction company and the pump truck company, with the concrete company as a third party. Additionally, due to the employer's failure to fulfill its obligations regarding work injury compensation, Attorney Cai Kangmiao filed a lawsuit for work injury insurance benefits in the jurisdiction where the concrete company is located.
II. Third-Party Tort Liability and Work Injury Insurance Benefits Litigation Working in Tandem, Responding to Counterclaims, and Re-Initiating Work Injury Insurance Benefits Litigation; Second-Instance Tort Case Resolved Through Withdrawal of Lawsuit in Exchange for Debt Offset to Address Enforcement Difficulties
In the tort litigation, the court added the pump truck company's insurance company as a defendant. During the first-instance trial, the construction company filed a counterclaim, demanding that C return the medical expenses and other costs totaling over 1.3 million yuan that the construction company had previously advanced. This claim left the client's relatives deeply puzzled. Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the construction company, as a state-owned enterprise, had indeed advanced part of the expenses, including those advanced by the pump truck company. However, the work-related injury insurance had already reimbursed over 1 million yuan in medical expenses. Had this amount not been returned to them? Attorney Cai Kangmiao verified with the Social Insurance Administration Center and discovered that the entire 1.13 million yuan in medical expenses and daily hospitalization allowance had been paid to the concrete company, which had appropriated these reimbursement funds and refused to return them.
Since the client had been hospitalized for over two years, the case involved numerous claims for various expenses (medical expenses, lost wages, nutritional expenses, nursing fees, and living expenses for dependents), particularly the need to provide all hospitalization records for various appraisals. After extensive negotiations and communications with the client’s relatives, the hospital, the court, and the appraisal institutions, the appraisal conclusion was finally obtained that the client’s comprehensive disability compensation index for the aforementioned disability level was 90%, laying the foundation for the client’s claims for various expenses.
Due to the prolonged time since the accident and the absence of surveillance footage at the scene, the determination of accident liability has been a key focus of the case. Attorney Cai Kangmiao repeatedly contacted the Emergency Management Bureau, police station, Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission, Social Security Center, and all other departments related to the accident, but no effective evidence was obtained. Later, during the counterclaim process, the construction company submitted an appraisal report from the Emergency Management Bureau's appraisal center commissioned by the client. The report stated that the accident was caused by: 1. The concrete pump pipe's wall had worn thin during normal use, reducing its pressure-bearing capacity; 2. The concrete pump may have been paused for an excessively long period during the concrete pouring process. All parties engaged in intense debate over this opinion. Ultimately, the first-instance court supported our claims for various expenses totaling over 2 million yuan, but simultaneously ruled that C should refund the construction company 700,000 yuan.
In the work-related injury insurance benefits case, Attorney Cai Kangmiao represented the client in claiming wages during suspension of work, nursing fees, living allowances, unpaid annual leave, the difference in disability allowance, and the difference in disability benefits. Due to the complexity of the case, the arbitration panel determined that it could not issue a ruling and referred the case to the court for trial. The first-instance judge stated that since he had not previously handled claims related to the difference in disability allowance and disability pension, he visited the social insurance work-related injury benefits department multiple times with Attorney Cai Kangmiao to verify and investigate the facts. Ultimately, the court issued a fair first-instance judgment supporting all claims. Based on the fact that part of the wages during the period of suspension of work and living allowances had already been paid, the court ordered an additional payment of over 130,000 yuan. The concrete company appealed the decision.
After obtaining the first-instance judgment in the infringement case, our side immediately filed another lawsuit regarding the work-related injury insurance benefits dispute, demanding that the concrete company return the 1.13 million yuan in medical expenses and daily hospitalization meal allowances that had been compensated, and successfully secured the funds.
In the infringement case, both our party and the pump truck company appealed. After the second-instance trial concluded, during mediation, the construction company and the pump truck company proposed that if the appeal was withdrawn, the construction company could offset the outstanding engineering payment of over 500,000 yuan owed to the pump truck company. Considering the execution risks associated with the pump truck company being an individual business entity, after weighing the pros and cons, our party agreed to withdraw the appeal, and the case became final. After the infringement case became final, we faced multiple issues, including the insurance company not yet paying, the construction company pressuring us with enforcement, and whether we needed to apply for enforcement promptly. The lawyer decided to use time to gain space, negotiated with multiple parties, secured the insurance company's payment first, reached an agreement with the construction company and pump truck company on offsetting the engineering payments, and fulfilled it. Subsequently, regarding the litigation expenses we had advanced, we again claimed and recovered them from the construction company and pump truck company.
Building on this success, on the afternoon of July 18, 2025, the second lawsuit regarding work-related injury insurance benefits was heard in court. The lawyer visited the Insurance Administration Center in the morning and discovered that the center had paid the concrete company an additional 7,500 yuan in hospitalization meal allowance. During the hearing, Attorney Cai Kangmiao also demanded that the concrete company promptly refund the amount. With the judge's assistance, both parties reached a mediation agreement. The concrete company paid 9,500 yuan (7,500 yuan plus 2,000 yuan in mediation preservation application fees) separately. The judge personally went to the bank to lift the preservation order and transferred the frozen funds of over 1.13 million yuan directly to the client.
The first-instance work-related injury insurance benefits dispute entered the second-instance trial. The lawyer argued forcefully, and the second-instance court ultimately dismissed the concrete company's appeal and upheld the original judgment. The concrete company paid over 130,000 yuan to the client within a week.
III. A silent banner, priceless trust
Thus, this nearly two-year-long compensation claim process for the client came to a successful conclusion. Throughout the litigation and arbitration proceedings, Attorney Cai Kangmiao, relying on his solid professional foundation and extensive practical experience, vigorously argued the case and ultimately secured over 2.61 million yuan in compensation and nearly 40,000 yuan in litigation fee refunds for the client through two rounds of labor arbitration, three first-instance trials, and two second-instance trials. This crimson banner not only affirms Attorney Cai Kangmiao's professional attitude but also vividly embodies our firm's philosophy of “pursuing excellence and fulfilling our trust.” Facing complex cases and numerous obstacles, Attorney Cai Kangmiao's team has consistently used professional expertise as their sword and a sense of responsibility as their shield, never relinquishing any opportunity to advocate for the legitimate rights and interests of their clients.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
