My child threw up on the bus. Two passengers who were sitting in front of us contacted us through the bus company. The two passengers are asking for compensation (benshou 弁償). One is asking for 50,000 yen. The other is asking for 30,000 yen. They sent me pictures of their clothing and I can see some small spots. They are saying some of the items were from very expensive brands. They each want us to transfer that money to their respective bank accounts. Is this normal?
Should I contact a lawyer? I felt pressured, so I already told one of them I would be able to pay at a later date. I haven't responded to the other yet.
Would it be worth it to contact a lawyer? It looks like it might cost 5,000 yen for 30 minutes. I don't know if I would qualify for a free consultation.
Edit: some people are asking how the passengers got my contact info. It was a highway bus with reserved seats, so the bus company had my contact info. They called me and asked if it was okay if the passengers in front of me were given my contact information. I agreed, because I wasn't really thinking through what might happen. So the bus company didn't do anything wrong, I think.
by Rosenfel
42 comments
No offer to pay for dry cleaning and leave it at that .
This is modern day sagi. Sorry but people will really go this low?
As someone already suggested, have them give you a receipt or invoice (領収書 or 請求書) of their dry cleaning bill and reimburse them for that.
WTF. What kind of lowlife asks for 30k and 50k for a child throwing up on them? It’s an accident, accidents happen.
Side note: you can try dimenhydrinate pills for your kid, it really helped with my childhood motion sickness and I still use it occasionally when have to drive on mountain roads
Scammy af.
Offer to pay for dry cleaning
In Japan, the basic legal principle is “restoration to the original condition”. This means that if you damage or stain someone else’s clothing, you are generally required to restore it to the condition it was in before, or compensate for the loss if that is not possible. In many cases, paying the cleaning cost is usually sufficient, even if the item is expensive.
You are not automatically required to pay for a brand-new replacement.
You can offer to pay the cleaning fee. Make sure to ask for proof that the item was taken for cleaning.
If the stain doesn’t come out, you may need to pay for the replacement.
Apologize as a smooth over and Counter offer to pay for the dry cleaning.
wait…People can ask for your info thru a bus company? they can contact you like a loan shark?
My sibling’s entire outfit was ruined from top to bottom including his coat, hat, and bag by someone (an adult) though throwing up on him. When he came home we were upset the person who threw up on him didn’t even offer to pay for the drycleaning fee. We threw out entire outfit.
Offering to pay drycleaning fee is very normal here when you throw up in someone but some expensive coat are ruined by drycleaning so some people may take you to court to sue for damages regardless.
Not legal advise. If it was me I would play dumb:
First, why did they contact you? Did the bus company asked you permission to give them your details? I would complain to the bus company for disclosing customers privarte information.
Second, I would disregard anything that wasnt claimed to me at the moment. Do you remember them wearing those exact clothes on that day? Can they prove that they wore them during that trip, that the stains were made by your child, and that there were not there before? I dont care if it was true or not, only if it can be proven, if not: sorry but I have no way to know those stains were my child’s fault.
At most, I would offer to pay the cleaning, but only the amount for those two specific pieces. And will get the quote directly from the cleaning shop myself. Not gonna pay for their whole laundry.
Assume they are lying unless they can prove that the stains were made by your child and not somewhere else at a different time. Also, who wears a piece of clothing worth 50k to ride on a bus?
Offer to pay for dry cleaning and leave it there. If they insist, wait for them to file a formal claim (they won’t).
I work at a hotel with a buffet restaurant with occasional spills and such happens from time to time.
In case of damage, you have to repair it to the state it was before the damage.
Even if they ask for a full replacement, realistically just asking for their receipt of dry cleaning and paying that amount is enough.
If you you really did mess up their clothes, then just offer to pay for dry cleaning. You’re not paying for some emotional damage bs lmao. Have them send dry cleaning invoice which won’t be near as expensive.
I have nothing else to add other than I think shaking down a person because their kid threw up on them is some of the most bitch made shit I’ve ever heard of in my life.
What I am curious of is how did these 2 passengers contacted you thru the bus company?
Why the bus company knows your contact information in the first place?
Also the bus company violated you for sharing your contact information to fellow passengers.
To answer your question, 30k and 50k is too much for only stains of clothing.
If their clothes are really expensive, they should show you the receipt or proof that their clothing is expensive. (I mean if I am wearing lux brand, I will also feel bad lol)
And then if no damage other than stains, you can offer them to pay the best dry cleaning service and give reimbursement for any other things like tissues they bought to clean up the puke or if they took shower to some public place like mangga kissa.
My take is they might be asking too much but at the same time, still offer compensation that would be fair for both parties
Yes and sue the bus company for giving you phone number out.
Always wait for a lawyer to contact you directly then hire a lawyer but also a lawyer will be more expensive, so I would just wait it out and ignore any and all calls from them for a while.
Probably the bus company is not allowed to share your personal details to 3rd parties, so I guess you could sue them for that as well?
Is it normal? It’s difficult to say.
Heard about something similar happening to a friend once. Although it didn’t involve children, some salaryman gave him 20,000 for throwing up on his sneakers and offered to pay his train fare. The dude paid on the spot.
There’s not enough info in the post though. How old is the kid? Are we talking like a small toddler or like a 10-year old ジャイアン? You said the spots were little but apparently multiple people were thrown up on. Was your kid behaving and seated when this happened or was he/she leaning over the front of seat and just started ralphing?
The parents’ reaction during the incident goes a long ways too. Was there an apology and an effort to mitigate puke radius or did the parent just meekly get off the bus without saying anything. If that were the case (not saying it was) and if I were wearing my expensive super duper scarf I just got over the holidays- yeah, I’d feel a certain way about it.
Don’t think you should be so worried though. Most of the time just contacting those people in person and explaining your side of the story and explaining your situation would be enough for normal people to work out some kind of arrangement.
Do you happen to have liability insurance through either your credit card, your renter’s insurance, or attached to your bicycle insurance? If so, just contact them and let them work it out with the “victims.” On mine, one of the “example scenarios” is literally “your kids were fucking around and messed up a stranger’s belongings.”
Going forward, You can get insurance for kids costs like ¥4-5,000 a year and covers these kinds of situations, like a kid spilling something on a strangers clothing etc.
Wouldn’t a personal liability insurance be the right place to call? You may already be covered if you paid by credit card… Or maybe as part as an automotive or bicycle insurance (mandatory if you drive either)
Not a lawyer but people in Japan do love to threaten lawsuits that (mostly) go nowhere. I would try first to ignore and move on. If they keep insisting you can even accuse them of harassment.
Wow .. just wow ..
It’s amazing how low some people are behaving.
But if you think you wanna pay anything,just to keep your mind in peace, ask for the receipt of the cleaning. That’s the maximum I would pay. But I think I wouldn’t pay for anything, as others said: where’s the proof that the stains came from that bus ride and from your child?
Other people already gave you good answers.
However I think it may be interesting to contact the bus company to see how they will fix the fact they gave your personal information to random people without you agreeing, especially dangerous since you have a child…
That’s personal information leaking WITH damage…
Even for expensive items, depreciation（？） should apply, I believe.
Also, I think insurance would normally pay out in this case.
Specifically, personal liability insurance (personal liability coverage), which covers compensation costs when, in the course of everyday life, you injure someone or damage another person’s property due to an ordinary accident or mishap.
Ask them for their cleaning receipts and then pay them promptly. The Japanese way is to send them an apology gift of a small box of cakes saying an apology too. You can discuss it with the lawyer to check the specifics laws in this regards. Their requests seem high to me. People don’t normally wear expensive fashions on a bus.
What a waste of time.
Just have it cleaned. Why do you need to replace it? You didn’t rip the clothes off.
I had the misfortune of being in a packed train passing through Kamata station in Tokyo. A few meters away a drunk salaryman actually threw up curry udon onto the back of a high school girl. She was totally drenched in vomit, curry udon vomit to be precise. The smell was horrendous to say the least. The train staff came. They helped clean up the girl and everyone went on their merry way without any need for financial compensation. I think the passengers on your bus are desperately trying to con you out of some cash. Of course for us foreigners we would offer to pay something for the damage, but in this case, as everyone else has mentioned, the dry cleaning bill being paid is enough.
I had a similar thing happen where some Japanese criminal types tried to extort 75,000 yen from me for damage to their shoes (been a while but I think that was the amount). My dog started fighting their dog and they said my dog damaged their shoes. At first, they just wanted 10,000 yen and I agreed to that and stupidly gave them my cell number. After I paid and gave them a sorry gift as well they started barraging me with constant phone calls, saying they wanted more money, and saying they would find me and mess me and my family up. I went to the Police, and the guy actually called me when I was there at the police station so I put it on speakerphone and even with them threatening me right there on speakerphone, the police still said they couldn’t do anything unless they actually hurt me.
I got a lawyer and had him call the people and explain how he would file legal complaints against them and instantly all the calling stopped. Best money I ever spent!
If you saw the damage to the those people’s clothes, and can agree that they were indeed expensive clothes, and that the throw-up can’t be cleaned out, offer to pay what you think is right. If you think it’s a shake down, lawyer up! Police will not help in any way.
Edited typos
That is way out of line. My first thought was “Why are you wearing such expensive clothing on a highway bus?” But this is coming from someone who can’t afford to nor would care to glam up in general. 😅
Am I taking crazy pills or is 50k and 30k not even that outrageous of a compensation claim for being puked on? Why is everyone acting like OP is being scammed?
It’s winter time, people wear jackets, 50k is a normal price for a decent one, and if mine got puked on (by a kid or not), I’d be upset and seek out damages. Dry cleaning does NOT equal complete restoration, and depending on the amount of puke, I would feel gross about wearing it again.
I have solid experience regarding this recently and took extensive legal consultation that you can leverage from.
This is a civil dispute and not a criminal dispute. They cannot force you to pay unless enforced by a civil court. So their best course of action is to harass you into paying.
Irrespective of the circumstances, your liability is limited only to the extent of damage caused. Emotional distress or opportunity loss without documented proof and proportional causation is generally not compensable under ordinary negligence cases.
Your recommended course of action is to not accept any liability, show no guilt even if things escalate absolutely not budge beyond a dry clean fee of ~3K.
Finally, you could have taken the bus company for court for breaching your privacy and sharing your direct contact number. Ideally the aggrieved party should have filed a case and only then could they have shared your number. But you made a mistake of agreeing with them.
DM me for any legal help.
This is really crazy, at least offer to pay for dry cleaning. Unfortunately, costly accidents happen and you can’t go though life expecting to say ‘ it was an accident ‘ then get away free. Using the ‘ it’s just a child ‘ card is also no good. You’re responsible for your child because they are a brand new human still growing up and in your care so of course you’re responsible if they break things or get biohazard on people. A lot of people really value clothes as a sense of personality and identity so they would definitely pay 300 – 500 dollars on a good winter jacket from a high quality brand especially in Japan where it gets pretty cold. My friend is a dry cleaner who specializes in wedding gowns and historical dresses. He said biohazard dry cleaning is often something not everyonr will do which is understandable and there is often a premium price. Some materials also cannot be dry cleaned but offering dry cleaning and an apology is the bare minimum of human decency.
No way, just pay for dry cleaners at best. They are trying to take advantage of you.
Did some of y’all just arrive in Japan or something? Many Japanese love expensive brands. They’ll have a few items that are expensive/meaningful that they take care of very well. Yes, they absolutely will wear them on the bus.
Your child is not a free pass to put puke and shit on people. Reimburse them. Why would you not even offer in the first place?
You messed up with consenting to give information… You’ve learned that lesson.
I’d absolutely consult a lawyer and take their advice.
Not Japanese…
Can’t you just let them sue you and let justice take its course?
I mean, if they want to bring things like that up, let justice speak with the law and everything~ and they’ll most likely back down if they have to justify something before a judge….
I wouldn’t pay. If they feel that serious they can take you to court. Small claims court takes at least 3 visits: one to pick up the forms, one to register, and one for the hearing. That’s going to cost them more in time than the money they’re asking for. And if they do sue you, it will go to arbitration first and they’ll be assigned a share of the blame for being there, reducing their claim.
I’ll be devils advocate here. While they are probably trying to scam, there is a chance they’re not.
I was wearing a ¥50,000 T-shirt one night out at a bar and a woman who was wasted and eating something oily recently puked all over the floor while walking. It hit tables floors and unfortunately, splatter on my shirt and pants. No matter the cleaning method, the oil from her vomit wouldn’t come out and I no longer wear that shirt. So it’s possible they aren’t lying, but they probably are because I feel like it’s such a rare situation.
Just pay up. Lesson learned
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