The actress who became disabled after being trapped under a "Gelik": what does the legislation say about this?

It was reported that actress Sabrina Jabborova was involved in a car accident while filming the music video for singer Ozoda Nursaidova's "Dilbarim," resulting in her becoming disabled. She stated in her appearance that no assistance was being provided to her by those responsible for the incident, and she was left to her own devices. Following this, representatives of the filming crew, the singer, and her manager claimed that sufficient help was being provided to the actress. Later, Ozoda Nursaidova expressed that she was not fully aware of the situation and apologized to Sabrina. Currently, this case is being investigated by the internal affairs authorities.

How will the damage caused to the actress be compensated? What does the law say about this? To answer these questions, the "Daryo" correspondent consulted labor law expert Muhammadamin Karimjonov.

If a contract has been signed...

If the actress is an employee working under a labor contract, according to Article 319 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to compensate for the damage caused to the employee's life or health.

According to Article 321 of the Labor Code, the employer is required to compensate for the damage caused to the employee's life or health due to work-related disability and/or occupational disease.

The employer is materially liable for damage caused to the employee's life or health while performing work duties both within and outside their premises, as well as during travel to and from work in transport provided by the employer due to work-related disability.

According to Article 322 of the Labor Code, the compensation for damage caused to the employee's health by the employer includes:

• one-time payment to the employee;
  
• monthly payments made as compensation for lost wages;
  
• compensation for the employee's additional expenses.
  

According to Article 323 of the Labor Code, the amount of the one-time payment made by the employer due to damage to the employee's health is determined by the collective agreement, or if there is none, by the agreement between the employer and the trade union committee. In this case, the amount of the one-time payment due to damage to the employee's health should not be less than the annual salary calculated based on the employee's average monthly wage.

Appendix 1 of the Cabinet of Ministers' decision No. 60 dated February 11, 2005, "Rules for compensating damage caused to employees in connection with their performance of work duties," regulates relations regarding compensation for damage caused to employees in connection with their performance of work duties by the laws of Uzbekistan, other normative legal documents, and these rules.

In order to ensure the correct and uniform application of the laws, the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court has also adopted a decision on "Judicial practice regarding disputes related to compensation for damage caused to the life and health of employees in connection with the performance of work duties."

The above analysis applies only to employees working under a labor contract.

What if there is no labor contract with the actress?

According to Article 11 of the Labor Code, labor legislation does not apply to the following individuals (if they do not simultaneously act as employers or their representatives in the manner prescribed by this Code).

When a civil law contract is signed, a citizen does not enter into labor relations with the organization, and the parties are not the employee and the employer, but the executor and the client, and the guarantees provided in the Labor Code are not included in the civil law contract.

According to Article 989 of the Civil Code, a legal entity or citizen is liable for the damage caused by their employee while performing labor (service, position) duties.

According to the rules of this chapter, citizens working under a labor contract, as well as those working under a civil law contract, are recognized as employees if they act based on the instructions of the relevant legal entity or citizen or under their supervision or if they are required to act in such a manner.

The concept of employee in the second part of Article 989 of the Civil Code encompasses not only those working under a labor contract but also those working under a civil law contract. That is, this concept is broader than the concept of employee in the second part of Article 19 of the Labor Code.

Economic partnerships and societies, production cooperatives compensate for the damage caused by their participants (members) during the implementation of the entrepreneurial, production, or other activities of the partnership, society, or cooperative.
The underage actress pressed the gas pedal under the direction of the operator and director but lost control of the vehicle at that moment. The vehicle's wheels ran over Sabrina twice: the front wheel completely passed over her, while the rear wheel rolled over her. As a result of the incident, Sabrina suffered a broken pelvis, and other parts of her body sustained serious injuries, according to Sabrina's appeal.

Sevinch, who was driving the "Gelik," stated that she initially said she did not know how to drive the car.

^{Sevinch
Photo: Instagram}
“They told me to drive the 'Gelik.' Ahad Qayum said, 'This car knows how to drive.' But I said I had never driven a 'Gelik' before. The driver who had been driving the 'Gelik' repeatedly explained to me how to drive it.”

Thus, the filming began, and 4-5 shots were taken. This incident occurred in the last shot. “There are many people here, how can I drive?” I asked. Shuhrat and Abror said, “There are people responsible for the mass event, don’t pay attention to them.” Then while I was driving, they said, “Look at the frame, not the road, look towards the window.” After that, I lost control because my eyes were looking to the side. It is difficult to drive in high-heeled shoes. After this incident, I lost consciousness. They took Sabrina to the hospital, Sevinch said.

According to Appendix 1 of the Cabinet of Ministers' decision No. 172 dated April 12, 2022, according to paragraph 149 of the "Traffic Rules," a learner must be at least 18 years old at the end of the training period to be entitled to drive a vehicle (for categories "B" and "C").

According to Article 135 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility, the management of vehicles by individuals who do not have the right to drive vehicles or do not have the documents granting the right to drive those specific vehicles, as well as the transfer of the management of vehicles to individuals who do not have the right to drive, results in a fine of five times the basic calculation amount (1 million 875 thousand soums).

If a person suffers bodily harm as a result of the incident, the punishment will be determined based on its severity.

According to Article 999 of the Civil Code, the obligation to compensate for damage falls on the legal entity or citizen who owns the source of increased danger based on property rights, operational management rights, or any other legal basis (property lease agreement, power of attorney granting the right to drive a vehicle, order from the relevant authority to hand over the source of increased danger, etc.).

According to Article 1006 of the Civil Code, if a citizen is disabled or suffers other harm to their health, the victim is entitled to compensation for lost wages (income) that they would have received or could have received, as well as additional expenses incurred due to harm to their health, including treatment, additional nutrition, purchasing medications, prosthetics, being under someone’s care, treatment in a sanatorium, purchasing special vehicles, and costs for retraining for another profession, if it is determined that the victim needs these types of assistance and care and does not have the right to receive them for free.

In determining lost wages (income), the disability pension assigned due to the victim's disability or other types of pensions, allowances, and similar payments received before and after the harm to their health are not taken into account and do not reduce the amount of compensation (are not included in the compensation calculation). The wages (income) received by the victim after the harm to their health is also not included in the compensation calculation.

The amount and quantity of payments due to the victim under this article may be increased by law or contract.

What if there is no civil law contract with the actress, or no contract at all?

Even if there is no civil law contract with the actress or no contract at all, the damage caused to the citizen's health must be compensated. This is because the basis for establishing civil liability is considered to be the non-fulfillment or inadequate fulfillment of an obligation, delict (in civil law, a person's civil wrongdoing resulting in property damage to another person gives rise to delict liability) is primarily based on the existence of damage.

That is, in delict liability, even if no contract has been signed, the person who caused the damage must compensate it in full.