12-Year-Old Girl Sent by Stepmother to Unlicensed Workshop to Save for Concert Tickets, Suffers Grade 6 Disability; Court Rules Factory 70% Liable, Guardian 30%

A 12-year-old girl's case of suffering a grade 6 disability while working in an unlicensed workshop has become a trending topic.

According to reports, in 2025, a 12-year-old girl named Xiaoya from Handan City suffered a grade 6 disability while working at an unlicensed rubber clay factory. The court ruling shows the factory bears 70% of the liability, while the guardian bears 30%.

After the judgment took effect, because no labor capacity assessment had been conducted at the time of the ruling, the court did not award disability compensation. Xiaoya's family later submitted an application for compensation to the Quzhou County Labor Arbitration Commission, and the case has now been transferred to the Handan Municipal Arbitration Commission for trial.

Incident: Saving for Concert Tickets Led 12-Year-Old to Work at Unlicensed Workshop

At around 4 PM on December 8, 2025, while Xiaoya was feeding rubber clay into a machine, her right arm was caught in the equipment. She was rescued at the Wukuang Hanxing Workers' General Hospital and her life was no longer in danger. The hospital's injury diagnosis included "open fracture of the right upper arm humerus," "partial rupture and embolism of the right elbow brachial artery," and a total of 20 injuries. Xiaoya was hospitalized for 28 days at the Wukuang Hanxing Workers' General Hospital, then transferred back to Quzhou County Hospital for continued inpatient rehabilitation.

Court: Factory Held 70% Liable, Guardian 30%

According to the Quzhou County People's Court judgment, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau confirmed the factory operated without a license and employed a minor.

Because the labor capacity impairment assessment was not available at the time of the court ruling, the court did not award disability compensation. The stepmother, Ms. Xue, then submitted a labor arbitration application to the Quzhou County Labor Arbitration Commission. The commission subsequently entrusted a third party to conduct a labor capacity assessment for Xiaoya.

On June 30, 2026, the Handan Municipal Labor Capacity Assessment Committee issued an opinion showing Xiaoya constitutes a "grade 6 disability; does not meet the criteria for a life self-care impairment grade." The Quzhou County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau also issued an administrative penalty decision for labor security supervision.