China to close urban-rural gap in personal injury compensation

Differences in compensation for victims of personal injury based on whether they come from a rural or urban area will soon be a thing of the past.

Effective May 1, the unified compensation standard will mean rural victims are given the same level of compensation as urban residents, according to revised judicial clarification issued by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Wednesday.

The current compensation system was calculated with the per capita net income of rural residents and per capita disposable income of urban residents in each specific region.

For example, under the current rule, a victim with rural household registration may get a death compensation claim of up to 1.02 million yuan (about 155,000 U.S. dollars) in a court in Beijing, while a victim with urban status may get up to 2.34 million yuan.

By introducing the new rule, the compensation standard for rural victims will also be based on the per capita disposable income of urban residents, said a senior judge with the civil division of the SPC, adding that it is part of the efforts in advancing integrated urban and rural development.