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Published on January 23, 2008

Thailand's civil justice system has come a long way, it seems. The Appeal Court decided yesterday to uphold a Civil Court order for the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and a company granted the concession for the city bus service to pay more than Bt10 million in compensation for causing the death of a passenger, a university student. The Appeal Court agreed with the Civil Court's decision to award compensation to the victim's family, reasoning that the recklessness of the bus driver, failure by the concessionaire to maintain its buses in appropriate working condition, and poor supervision by the BMTA contributed to the accident that killed Piyathida Chotimanas in Bang Kapi in 2004.

Piyathida was flung out of the bus and sustained serious injuries after the vehicle suddenly swerved out of a bus stop. The driver also failed to close the doors, which were later found to be out of order and could not have been closed anyway.

Piyathida later died of injuries sustained in the accident.

The bus was driven by Tawim Saengdej, employed by Thanasith Worachotehiransiri, who owns the company granted the concession by the BMTA to operate the Route 207 service. The pair were sued by the victim's parents, who sought Bt10.75 million in compensation based on a calculated loss of financial support they would have gained if their daughter, who majored in international finance, had not been killed and had gone on to pursue her chosen career.

The two defendants appealed against the Court of First Instance's ruling, arguing that the amount of compensation was too high, but the Appeals Court disagreed and upheld the Civil Court's verdict.

The compensation awarded, which is high by Thai standards, reflects our civil justice system's growing sensitivity to the need, and right, of victims or their families to be awarded monetary compensation for their losses. It also reflects the importance of punitive damages being imposed against people - or corporations or organisations - who cause harm to others through recklessness.

In recent years, Civil Court judges have begun awarding substantial sums in compensation to the families of victims in order to redress their suffering, lost opportunities and/or emotional distress. Judges have been much more attentive to the demands of injured parties' and have fixed reasonable, and fair amounts of compensation accordingly.

Tort cases, including cases of personal injury, used to be few and far between in this country. Tort refers to the body of law which allows an injured person to obtain compensation from the person who caused the injury. This is based on the principle that all persons are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not cause injury to others. If and when they do cause injury to others, either intentionally or by negligence, they can be required by a court to pay money to the injured party. This is to make sure that the person who caused pain or injury suffers for his or her actions, and to ensure that it serves as an example to others.

This is the kind of just principle that Thailand needs to foster in order to create a fair society in which all people are equal before the law and where each person has a right to fair treatment and fair compensation regardless of their socio-economic background.

The award of substantial but fair amounts of compensation to the victims of recklessness, or their families, should set an important example for judges to be more receptive to injured parties' demands. When the circumstances demand it, judges should continue to set such amounts of compensation, regardless of who the plaintiffs or defendants are.

Tort cases are still not widespread in this country, but this case does indeed set an example. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, the company that ran the bus concession, and indeed all other providers of public transport and other services, must see to it that their staff act in a responsible manner and are trained to follow safety regulations.

Only when people observe their legal obligations, take good care of their business and show a demonstrable and respectful attitude toward avoiding injury to others can we expect to become a fairer and safer society.

The Naiton