Injury by ceiling fan: Fix responsibility

Pushpa Girimaji

A month ago, while we were sleeping, part of the ceiling fan, which was running full blast, suddenly came crashing down. It hit the wall, damaged it and fell on my daughter’s face, injuring her badly. She is still undergoing treatment. Now I want to file a complaint in the consumer forum, seeking reimbursement of the medical expenses, besides compensation for the agony and pain being undergone by my daughter and the mental stress suffered by all of us. How do I go about it?

First of all, you have to decide who bears the liability for this tragic accident. In other words, you need to find out where and how the ceiling fan got disengaged — the exact cause of the accident. That forms an important basis for your complaint and also determines who is responsible for the incident. Was it a manufacturing defect that resulted in the fan coming apart? Or was it a shoddy job of the electrician who fixed the fan? Was the fan recently fixed or has it been there for long? How old or new was the fan? Had you noticed any problem with the fan? 

If investigations into the cause of the accident show manufacturing defect, you will have to hold the manufacturer liable. You can also name the seller in your complaint. On the other hand, if it is the fault of the electrician who fixed the fan, he would be accountable. And if he is an employee of the seller, then you can hold the seller too vicariously liable. Please get these details before filing the complaint. You can also check online if there are any complaints against the brand that you bought. That will also help you file yours.

The second part of the complaint would be the relief that you will be seeking and for that you need to have the doctor’s diagnosis, prescription, receipts of cash paid for the treatment provided, etc. I do hope you have taken pictures of the damage done to the wall and the mangled remains of the fan. You should use them in your complaint. Your daughter may not want pictures of her injured face, so you can just use the doctor’s prescription and diagnosis.

This is a very serious safety issue. You must take it up and request the consumer forum to direct the manufacturer to have that entire batch of fans checked up for safety. 

Having said that, I would urge all consumers to get their ceiling fans checked and serviced regularly so that the fan is in a good condition and is properly fixed. Tighten all loose nuts and bolts and ensure that the fan is securely fixed. Usually, we do not bother about the fan, once fixed, except for external cleaning. Internal cleaning, lubrication, re-adjustments of the blades (if necessary), are all essential. 

Absence of such safety measures can also cause accidents, besides poor quality fans. This year, a class seven student of a Delhi school was injured seriously when a ceiling fan fell on him in class. The year before, a 42-year-old patient was injured in the neck from a ceiling fan that fell while he was being examined by a doctor at a government medical college hospital in Coimbatore. In 2017, a 20-year-old student of BSc (Biotechnology) suffered head injuries when the fan fell on her at a government college. The electrician said the nut and bolt that held the hook and the rod of the fan had loosened, resulting in the accident.

Have such cases been decided by the consumer court?

I am sure there are many cases. I recall an old one brought before the Maharashtra State Commission, where the consumer, Sharda Sharma, was awarded a compensation of Rs 5,000 for the minor injury suffered by her when the ceiling fan came crashing down on her while she was watching a movie at a theatre hall in Bandra, Mumbai, in 1991. I do not have details of this case, but while searching for it, I found that this case had come up before the Bombay High Court too (Sharda Sharma Vs Fida Films and Hotel Co Pvt Ltd, Nov 12, 1993).

Please remember that the compensation depends on the facts of the case and the evidence placed before the court.