Fuzhou EV Hits Road Debris, Suffers $14K Damage; Court Clears Sanitation Department

A court in Changle District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province recently concluded a dispute case involving damage to a new energy vehicle. While driving, the vehicle struck a stone on the road, damaging core components including its power battery, resulting in repair costs exceeding RMB 100,000. After compensating the vehicle owner, the insurance company—unable to identify the source of the stone—sued the local sanitation center and a cleaning company responsible for road maintenance in that area, arguing they should bear liability for failing to promptly remove debris from the roadway. The cleaning company countered that it had completed street sweeping in accordance with established protocols and that the appearance of the stone was sudden and unforeseeable. The court found that sanitation staff discovered and removed the stone within eight minutes of the accident, and that street-cleaning vehicles had been continuously operating on urban roads that day. The court held that the sanitation center, as the manager of public roads, had fulfilled its duty of care and cleaning obligations within reasonable limits. Given that the accident occurred early in the morning, there were no surveillance cameras on the路段, and the presence of the debris was incidental, it would be unreasonable to expect constant, comprehensive monitoring of the entire road network. Accordingly, the court dismissed all claims brought by the insurance company. Neither party appealed the first-instance judgment, and the ruling has now taken effect.