Key facts
- A delivery worker sustained a severe brain injury in a traffic accident in January 2026.
- The worker lacked an identifiable employer to cover medical expenses and compensation.
- A Beijing court previously held a food delivery platform and its outsourcing company partially liable for a deliveryman's death.
- In that prior case, the court assigned 10% liability to the deliveryman, 20% to the platform, and 70% to the outsourcing company.
- The outsourcing company was found primarily responsible for the death.
- Compensation exceeding 1.5 million yuan was awarded to the deceased deliveryman's family.
A legal case involving a delivery worker who sustained a severe brain injury in a traffic accident while working highlights the ongoing challenges in holding China's gig economy platforms accountable for worker injuries. The worker, identified as Wang Fumin, discovered he had no identifiable employer to cover his medical expenses and compensation after the January 2026 incident.
This situation echoes a previous ruling in November 2022, where the Chaoyang Primary People’s Court of Beijing found a food delivery platform and its cooperating outsourcing company partially liable for the death of a deliveryman who died from sudden illness while working. In that case, the court determined that the deliveryman, the platform, and the outsourcing company bore responsibility at 10%, 20%, and 70% respectively. The outsourcing company, which directly employed the deliveryman and facilitated orders from the platform, was deemed primarily at fault.
Gig economy giants like Didi and Meituan often utilize outsourcing companies to hire workers, a practice seen as a way to circumvent direct employer liability. The court in the 2022 case ordered the platform and outsourcing company to pay over 1.5 million yuan to the deceased deliveryman's family. The Chinese government has been attempting to balance the interests of gig platforms and their workers, introducing policies that create a 'quasi-employment relationship' to ensure platforms bear some employer obligations without fully classifying gig workers as employees. This approach aims to protect worker rights while managing labor costs for platforms.